Album Review

The Jury & The Saints – The Jury & The Saints

• 2nd Mar 2015

Pop-punk (and associated umbrella terms) is enjoying something of a renaissance at the moment thanks in part to New Found Glory & Co’s insistence over the last couple of years on their Pop Punk’s Not Dead! Tour(s), and the continued success of international acts like Paramore, A Day To Remember and All Time Low. The UK is enjoying its fair share of the glory too with the likes of Marmozets and Neck Deep rightfully claiming their slots on the big tours both sides of the pond and plenty of column inches to boot.

Step up New Zealand punks The Jury & The Saints, back this year with their self-titled second LP. Formed in Auckland in 2009 by friends Jesse Smith and Rowan Crowe to release 2010’s debut album ‘Daydreams,’ the duo recruited drummer Marty Kroon and bass player Ivan Beets and set about kicking the arse out of their native New Zealand and Australia circuit, with tour supports to the likes of Paramore and The Get Up Kids and bagging a top 5 position for 2011 EP ‘Revivals’ on the NZ top 40 chart. Not a bad first couple of years.

What we have on this second release, folks, is an album you can put on at any time of day, in any mood, and just enjoy the feel-good, no messing about, street-punk simplicity and sensibility of the 12 tracks on offer. That’s not to say these 4 dudes can’t play, they really fucking can, but the songs and riffs just take you back to a time when music (and life) seemed so much easier and less stressful. And this is the perfect soundtrack for a trip down memory lane, as well as a nice reminder that good rock music hasn’t gone anywhere at all.

Opener ‘Start Moving’ really does start things moving very nicely, with the first of the gang vocal chorus chants that are a regular fixture throughout the record, as are the hook heavy riffs a la Hundred Reasons and Thrice. Second track ‘Fever’ hints at the first of a few nods to Deja Entendu-era Brand New with another massive chorus, before single ‘Focus’ slaps us round the face with more of the double time, in-your-mask riffage for a bit, until a surprise breakdown that la-la-la’s along like any You Me At Six tune you’ve got. The lads aren’t re-writing the book here, but they’re not trying to. They’re making some fucking class tunes that you can tell they absolutely love belting out every night, and I can’t wait to see them doing it.

Another first half highlight is ‘Monday Morning’ with Smith’s snarling Cobain / Corgan-esque ‘Yeeeahhh’ sitting perfectly on top of the slower, more laid back number. Shades of London’s finest, Apologies I Have None point out what a great pairing that would be should a UK run be on the cards this year. ‘Freedom Fighter’ gets things back to normal with a Bronx / Defeater-like romp through shouty verses and epic choruses more like Jimmy Eat World.

‘Bust The Radio’ is surely a contender for next single, with an amazing 80’s power chorus, and ‘Brand New’ ironically sounds more like Taking Back Sunday, which isn’t a bad thing. For a moment you think ‘Last Mistake’ is going to be a ‘My Sharona’ cover but it’s another slice of The Jury and The Saints catchier-than-velcro record that I’m loving more and more with every listen. Closer ‘Make Our Mark’ is the perfect ending to an album that’s going straight back on again, and again.

Growing up with this sort of music, one of the things that made it so cool was knowing you could probably imagine yourself being mates with your favourite bands. Your lives were probably comparable. That’s how this record makes you feel – you know the guys, you know the tunes, and you’re just rocking out. This is good time punk for everyone, whether you thought it was dead or not. Enjoy.

– Adam Lewis

Venue: The Jury & The Saints
Support Band: SPV Recordings