The soundtrack of your youth
From Athens, Georgia comes Juan De Fuca, a band led by singer Jack Cherry and inspired by Foo Fighters, Death Cab for Cutie and some older acts as well. Their latest LP, Solve/Resolve, is ten tracks strong and excellent material for an indie film’s soundtrack. The style remains mostly constant, with only slight waivers in track nine.
The album opens with “Two Years,” a song whose intro taps the listener’s shoulder and causes them to turn around and witness the heartwarming beauty of morning in nature. The birds tweet ever so daintily, the flowers twinkle, the trees stand tall and mighty. The whole natural scene smiles with this bright introduction, using just a single snare drum hit to bring the band into the new feel. This opening is one of the top three moments of the entire album. What a way to start.
“A Place to Wait,” “Get it Right” and “All the Time” are the first three picks for a high school movie soundtrack. They have a free-spirited, “I can take on the world” sound and conjure up characters consumed by social pressures and a fear of change. A nerdy kid who finally has the guts to ask out his high school crush comes to mind in “All the Time,” and “A Place to Wait” sounds like a montage scene, one with a lot of driving. These songs are easy to find comfort in, applying just a pinch of uncertainty, acknowledging the human in everyone.
On the note of uncertainty, it’s difficult to know where the singer/protagonist is in his relationship in “Fuck to Feel,” a song whose simple, unchanging chorus has a surprising amount of power in this musical context. Not that the other lyrics on this album pale in comparison to these lyrics, it’s just that the tasteful moaning makes him compelling to listen to — especially since it’s unclear if he’s in a relationship, freshly out of one, or just hooking up. Apart from the lyrics, the guitar sound in this is oh so rich, reminiscent of Johnny Marr and early Foo Fighters. Hard not to like.
Similar to “Two Years” in its bright happiness, “AA” is a jolly tune made for a morning walk around a sunny suburban neighborhood. Pee Wee Herman could get jiggy to this song.
Less happy but not purely sad are the two strongest and longest tracks, “Instructional Video” (track 6) and “Satisfaction” (the closer). Cherry’s voice is especially beautiful in the former, and he sings all listening ears into a gripping relaxation, allowing them to sleep or just lay back, look up and think. Picturing a flat place like Kansas, photographed in black and white may further enrich the listening experience. “Satisfaction” milks the two-chord progression that runs through most of it (until the change of feel in the second half) and embodies the struggling singer who is not entirely happy that he lives only for trivial satisfactions. While both are very enjoyable songs, the best track on the album is “Instructional Video” — it belongs in one of those “Most Beautiful Songs in the World” playlists.
The only uninteresting moments are the title track and “Entertainment,” both of which seek some other goal than to shake hands with the high schooler in all of us. The good moments don’t weaken with age or plays, so go ahead and put this one and enjoy Juan De Fuca’s sound.
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