Manchester Punk Festival Releases 37th Compilation
Manchester Punk Festival have released the 37th volume of their compilation series ahead of this year’s festival. Manchester Punk Festival Vol. 37 is…
Under A Killer Blue Sky - Undecided Records
The first time I heard the name Jupiter Sunrise was probably a good year or two ago on a compilation. They had the song Arthur Nix on it, and it stood out in my mind as probably one of the best songs on the compilation. Now, I’m sorry to say I forget what compilation it was, so that doesn’t say much for the CD. But I never forgot that song, which does say quite a lot; so when I got a e-mail saying they just signed a sponsorship with MySpace.com, I figured its time to finally give them a good check out. So I finally got their debut CD, Under A Killer Blue Sky, and it kicks off perfectly with the song I fell in love with so long ago, Arthur Nix; and I can’t help but wonder: why the hell didn’t I get this sooner?!?
Under A Killer Blue Sky blows away any and all preconceived notions about pop-punk and poppy rock, and returns more to the pop-punk styles of The Descendents. Melodic, catchy, fun, energetic, its everything pop-punk needs to be without the whining, boyish vocals, or boring lyrics. The vocals are strong, and catchy, just like most of the songs. Songs like Arthur Nix, Cherry Wine, Josie’s House, Badge Of Honor, Super X-Ray Vision are all instant classics the instant you hear them. Never constricting themselves to one formula for their songs, they keep surprising you at every turn. Unpredictable chord changes, melody switches, extreme differences in vocal harmonies, the band does it all while not becoming way too out there or eccentric. It makes the album more fun to listen to and sing along to compared to listening to the same thing over and over and over again.
The sole bad thing about Under A Killer Blue Sky is the slight sufferance of mediocre-ness. They tend to go one amazing song, then one so-so song, back to an amazing song. Every once in a while they surprise you with a few spectacular tracks in a row, followed by one or two mediocre songs again. They aren’t horrible songs, they just fall below par compared to the rest of the album.
But despite that one slight fault, the album features enough gems to make it worth while. Considering the fact that the one song off a random compilation stuck in my head for years, I’m guessing this full album will last even longer; and it won’t ware out anytime soon.