Jar’d Loose, a four piece from Chicago, has released their sophomore album entitled Turns 13 (The Path Less Traveled Records). Perhaps if I had turned 13 this year I may have liked this album or their apparent genre which is called “Noise Cock” according to the band’s Facebook page. Out of every album I have reviewed in my time here at Ghost Cult and other previous magazines as well, never have I had such difficulty in trying to write something positive about a new album. Granted, I did enjoy some of the guitar riffs Jar’d Loose had to offer, they just got so repetitive that I started hating them. The drums were pretty mediocre and they reminded me of someone who just started drumming this past Christmas when their grandparents gave the kid a drum set as a gift. I am not able to give an opinion on the bass riffs as they seemed to be non-existent in the mix or I am going deaf (which might be a possibility, my apologies). At this point in the production, the sound is not dreadful, just not very interesting. Yet, once the vocals kicked in, I could not contain myself. The repetitiveness of the vocal patterns and lyrics, mixed with some attempt at sounding like White Zombie-era Rob Zombie, gave me a clear picture of someone teaching a parrot how to sing hardcore while the band just jams in the background like a Phish cover band. Then it hit me, this must be Hatebeak! I pulled up my iTunes to just check on a possible error in my clicking ways, but alas, I read Jar’d Loose at the top of the screen before my iTunes froze and I needed to restart it.
Ok so I will make a positive statement here because honestly, I am not trying to bash a band, just putting my thoughts and observations down on paper and not sound like an elitist asshole. The track ‘Turning 13’ actually has a pretty catchy drum beat and guitar riff and I caught myself head bobbing a bit to the groove. If this track was stretched out to, say, 20-30 minutes as a recorded jam session of sorts, I would probably dig the release. However, tracks such as ‘The Light Took Us (Black Metal for Pussies)’ and ‘Adult Prom’ just throw off this vibe that creates chaotic headaches that only Car Bomb has been able to duplicate until today. Again, I am not trying to crack jokes here, I literally have a headache and I had turned the volume down about halfway through the opening track.
Overall, as one can probably tell if you are still reading, that I was not digging this release too much. I feel like there certainly is potential for this group and I am not just saying that to gain some smiles from upset fans who are sure to send me hate mail for this review. The effort was there, the idea was there, but it was a swing and a miss. Maybe it was the mix, the vocals, the lyrics in general, or the overall simplistic song structure that make most underground doom bands sound like Between the Buried and Me. Sorry guys, maybe the next release will shock me and the joke will be on me.
4.5/10
Jar’d Loose on Facebook
TIM LEDIN
