The Just Joans - Hey Boy... You're Oh So Sensitive EP
0 Comments Published by Colin on Sunday, June 29, 2008 at 17:31.
The Just Joans have been steadily building quite a following on the strength of their live performances and the Virgin Lips EP, released on the WeePOP! label at the start of the year. The followup, 'Hey Boy... You're Oh So Sensitive' is out now and can only add to their reputation as a band worth watching.As with other WeePOP! releases, it comes on a 3" CD lovingly packaged in a tiny envelope with illustrated booklet, pin badge, candy and hand-written note. In an era of digital everything, it's nice to have something tangible which has clearly taken some effort and love to create.
There are seven songs crammed onto that little CD, and the title track gets things off to a great start. It gently pokes fun at that particular breed of indie kid with NHS specs, V-neck jumper and a Woody Allen box set, although you sense that tongue is firmly in cheek. After all the band is more than a little twee itself, on record at least.
Second song, 'What Do We Do Now?' has been a staple of their live sets for a while, and it's good to hear it get an outing here. As with so many of their songs it's a tale of small-town angst, or rather that of someone who has moved to the big city and struggles to stay in touch with friends from back home. The Just Joans know how to do nostalgia-tinged melancholy, and this is one of the better examples.
Singing duties on the remainder of the EP are shared between three or four members of the band, male and female, which is one of the reasons they're sounding so much fresher and more varied than on early releases. Another is that the arrangements and recordings are starting to do justice to the songs, everything falling just the right side of lo-fi.
The standard is high throughout, but particular highlights are 'Grant Kelly', an ode to the mysterious new boy in town (where the oft-touted comparisons to The Shangri-Las start to make sense), and the eerie 'Ballad of Napperscone', written by Paul McDermott of short-lived Glasgow band The Poppadoms. As with the Virgin Lips EP, most of the songs here are augmented with clips from TV programmes or films, a touch that could have grated if done heavy-handedly, but never does.
If you've enjoyed their previous releases, this is a must-have. If you're still not alive to the charms of The Just Joans, order this EP and you soon will be. Highly recommended.
'Hey Boy... You're Oh So Sensitive' is limited to 160 copies and is available now direct from WeePOP! for £4.
[Myspace link]
0 Responses to “The Just Joans - Hey Boy... You're Oh So Sensitive EP”
Post a CommentLinks to this post
Create a Link