Dearly Beloved
From Nova Roads, Jaded
Here’s a great new band from Orlando with killer vocals, a tight rhythm section and great guitar work. They’ve labeled themselves as Emo Punk Rock, and that’s spot on. Their debut EP, Nova Roads, is an exceptionally well produced project for a debut. It reminds us of Sum 41, Good Charlotte, and a bit of Papa Roach. Fire up the metronome, crank up the monitors, here’s a look at track 5, Jaded.
Great guitar tones that remind me of Motörhead and a punctuated kick and snare pattern fire up the first 8 bars around 193 BPM in a ferocious attack that could bring my Uncle out of a coma. Love the mix right away - the lower EQ on the guitar is really thick, really beautiful. Great compression and mic choice on the kick and snare with just the right amount of reverb. First verse is high and tight. Vocals are a mix of shout with backgrounds and a good melody, with a picked bass line that works perfectly. These first two sections are textbook emo punk.
A considerable challenge when composing and producing songs like this (high energy, high BPM, full attack on the front) is how to handle the chorus. You need to differentiate the parts somehow. (If you’re a regular reader to this blog, you know we love to compare song structure to parts of a house.) With this chorus we get a nice change up in the chord progression that lifts the song perfectly, and that’s followed up by some great syncopated hits. Topping it off is the lyrical hook and the idea of being jaded. From there, we get a seamless transition into the second verse - well done.
Second verse bleeds perfectly into the second chorus at the midway point in the song, and then we get a cool broken down section for a birdge with lyrics that are right in line with the song and the genre. It’s not hard to image these being screamed at the top of our lungs while caught on I4 around Orlando, or in a massive crowd. They explore the bridge and expand on it’s theme (“It’s a set up!”) in solid fashion by coming out of the A section of the bridge into a powerful follow-up statement that should make the crowds explode. With 30 seconds left, it all goes double-time and is accented by great solo. Great track!
Kudos to the bass player for his tone and riffs on this track (and the others). Playing with a pick can lead to some sloppy habits and poor tone - but this dude has it down. Also want to mention that this band does a great job of creating a boat load of energy without stepping on each others toes. Too many bands in this genre just crank it up and play without a thought for what comes first. The song ALWAYS comes first and these guys have it figured out.
Make sure you scroll down and catch more of their songs. After listing to Jaded, take a listen to Before You Go. It’ll shock you. It’s a great mid-tempo track that shows a great depth to their writing. Just when you think it’s going to finish out in the manner it started - it explodes. The Ballad of Marcus & Maria is just about as poppy punk as you could get. Again, great writing and production with a sing-along story.
This is a solid debut from a band with a great deal of potential. We look forward to what they’ll be doing next and wish them the best with this release!