“Jookabox is a bit paranoid”, they say it makes…others paranoid (look behind you). They seem to dance around a fire pit, maybe there’s something on a stick being worshiped or sacrificed. You peek at jumping shadows and hope no one picks you out. Jookabox spreads melodic dissidents through synthesized sawtooth waves usually over dribbling toms, percussive and sometimes tribal.
But 16 bars later they set you in a rich synth patch with delayed guitars and a rock back beat. These are spaced out recordings that speak to you like a jump rope rhyme. Layer after layer of vocals and harmony sound soooo serious while clapping their hands. Seems to be a lot of ironic contrast.
“Man-tra” – Starts off spooky, but then over this dance beat comes taunting and sarcastic vocals and chants. Oh, and a very creepy pitched shift pitched section. They manage to throw a little surf rock in the mix.
“Drops” – Less spastic than “Man-tra.” Lots of great drums over reverbed out guitars. Nice and full of space. “I can’t concentrate to save my life!”
“The Eyes Of The Fly” – Is this about complex presumptions of the world? One person seeing a million different views? …either way “I took in too much of the sacred drink.”
“Nice Boy – This short one Builds steady to a tribal toms over a rock beat and back. “Deleyed…Delayed….delayed
“Webbin'” – Personal Favorite. Sounds like a soda straw pushed through a lid back and forth. Enjoy the layered vocals and thick harmony during the verses. oh and a vibraslap.
“FF” – Staccato vocals with thick delays over quirky guitars at a medium tempo.
“Worms” – This is the darkest of the tracks. Seems like worms and flies are actually apart of the performance.
“I’m Slime” – A slinky and lazy feel of a song over theatrically charged vocal performances. Sounds like a sarcastic puppet show.
“Cold Solution” – I can’t tell if I like the Jajajaja 16th notes or the lalalala 8th notes better. Lots of interesting melodies building through this song. There are still layered vocals but the let the ladies sing minus the men for a nice contrast you don’t see on much of the other tracks.
“Veils” – That straw sound is back. Afterlife, as seen on TV.
As a forth and final record Jookabox granted us a final glimpse of their beautifully illustrated gibberish with the “Eyes of the Fly.” So, what are they diggin’ at? …who’s the fly? These songs with multiple personalities are not subject to traditional song structure – which is always priceless. The layered and pitched chants are mostly pleasant and invite you join in, if you could just figure out what the hell they are saying. So long Jookabox and please continue glyphing.
P.S. “Jookabox lives forever.”
—Mike Wilson
Mike Wilson is a producer/engineer for Ardent Studios with a B.A. in Music Production via Webster University in St Louis. Living and working in Memphis for 6 years have put him in touch with the core of Memphis Music. His work with local giants like Lucero and headlining bands like Smashing Pumpkins have put him in touch with a lot of important music.
Editor’s Note: Just like another band Mike recently reviewed, according to their website – Jookabox has broken up!
