By Deuce

Run, the latest album from JNBG, dropped on November 1. Ten cuts long, it showcases the range of this quintet of players and vocalists which, all things considering, is quite considerable.

Some of the album is fairly standard rock fare. We’re talking electric guitars that roar, tempos hovering somewhere near the 120 BPM mark, and bass gyrating in place it pulsates so swiftly and loudly.

“Brutus” is a great example of this propensity of the band, as is the leadoff number, “The Narrator”. Unadulterated, unbridled, and more than a little bit unhinged, they leave nothing to imagination in terms of force and fury.

Despite the instrumentalism on these tracks, a good amount of the spirit encapsulated within them stems from the vocals of Jaben Groome. He doesn’t quite sing so much as he growls, sometimes just a little bit more than ominously. Other times it’s like he’s talking, with a deadpan delivery that doesn’t bend to inflection or, in moments, even to the rhythm driving it. It’s a style that’s beyond off kilter, the 151 in the party mixture that makes the band unpredictable, dangerous, and prone to embrace the proverbial wild side.

For all these traits, however, the group is able to put together some moments of what’s hard to characterize other than musical perfection. “Barely Know You” provides the first inkling that these gentlemen are more than just a grunge band. Sure, they get to letting loose those quintessential electric guitars on the hook that turn the number into something appropriate for a mosh pit. But, during the verses they’re on their best behavior, with tight drum rolls, plenty of space between the kick and snare, a nice, easy mid-tempo beat guiding them, and the sort of bass line you can just ride to and look out the window all day.

The pairing of the bass and guitar on “So Nice” exemplifies this quality as well. Believe it or not, the fellas manage to hit you with something closely akin to a ballad on this one—before the hook comes around and those electric guitars break all restraints. Still, the easiness of the verses is a creditable counterpoint, the control on the chaos that adorns the album—giving a patent nod to the band’s range.