Band Review :: JJ72

Band Review :: JJ72
Posted :: Apr 27, 2004 by Impact

Artist :: JJ72
Genre :: Alternative Rock
Locale of origin :: Dublin
Necessary Albums :: I to the sky and JJ72
Rating :: 7/10

This trio from Dublin has reinforced the concept that 90% of all good music originates from Europe. Their two albums "I to the sky", and “JJ72” are both outstanding, the former being somewhat more developed and slightly more relaxed. It is hard to classify this music any further than alternative rock. It is not very fast paced music, but JJ72 can surely get intense at times. The vocals are the primary element of the music. They are amazingly melodic, the tone of Mark Greaney's, the lead singer, voice is very smooth and often high ranged (I thought they had a female singer for a long time). He sings in poetry most of the time, but you can tell there is purpose in his lyrics and not just rambling. An example from what may be their best song, “Brother Sleep,”: “This girl cries tears as if tortured/Is this girl the queen of the sea?/ I’m gonna see you through this my love.” Another of my favorites is “Serpent Sky,” an extremely powerful and distorted saga. It is out of place among the rest of their music and I don’t know where this song came from, but it is nonetheless very aggressive and forceful. The final must hear is “Desertion.” This song is incredibly soothing, and it's going to make me get all sentimental with you. It reminds me of a beautiful church hymn, but not in a hokey 7th-chordish way. It’s a lullaby, also not in a hokey-way. Mark Greaney, backed by Hillary Woods on bass, and Feargal Matthews on the drums, never fail to cater to your mood. The good thing about this band is that they will at times seem so forceful, but will at other times calm your senses and soothe you to sleep.