self-released – July 3rd, 2020
Pop punk that uniquely honors its influences
Jay Parade, a three piece pop-punk band from Charleston, West Virginia, names bands like Green Day, Blink 182, and Alkaline Trio as influences. After a couple of listens to “Sixty-One” (releasing July 3rd), it’s clear where these guys are coming from, but the end result goes beyond the sum of its influences to create an album that is both a clear homage and uniquely their own at the same time.
The structure of the album itself is noteworthy. “Timeout” opens the album, and there is a feeling of almost warming up. It’s an upbeat track that immediately gives the listener a feel for what to expect. The next two tracks (“Misery” and “Machine”) continue the warm-up feel but gain intensity. With “Know That It’s Real,” the album really takes off. The backing vocals are well harmonized. The arrangement is more developed, and the lyrics seem more heartfelt. For the remainder of the album this high maintains. “Hearts and Minds” focuses on the nostalgia for home. “Hitchhiker” has an impressive musical shift about two and a half minutes in. This building continues until the album ends with a restrained, but effective, guitar solo at the end of “Mental Thrillness.” Overall, the album feels like half of a bell curve; it starts off slowly and then builds rapidly before ending at the apex.
Lyrically, they cover a lot of ground, and the two tracks that lyrically stuck out most are from different ends of the spectrum. As mentioned before, “Hearts and Minds” focuses on the nostalgia for home. The song highlights how a hometown can feel like a safe place when away, which is of course true, but there is still the fact no place is perfect, and people tend to hide/ignore the negatives. At the other end, is the somewhat self parodying “Jay Charade.” Here the band highlights the struggles of life on the road: traveling hours, equipment issues, cost, etc. This leads to the question of: “If it’s so difficult why do it?” From listening to the album the answer that seems most obvious is that these guys love what they do.
Whether they’re poking fun at themselves, longing for home, or detailing the struggles of being in a band, it’s clear that Jay Parade enjoys what they do, and that enthusiasm is worth listening to more than just a couple times.
Writer and lover of music, horror, and beer.
