Last of the Juanitas - Time's Up EP
(Wantage USA)
When a child is called "a bundle of energy," it isn't entirely a good thing. It usually means they are "a handful." But when I say Last of the Juanitas is a "bundle of energy," I want to be clear that this is a very very very good thing. Last of the Juanitas rip through 9 songs in 20 minutes on their latest EP, Time's Up, letting off enough energy that you think their recording space must be a pool of sweat and that their mothers were probably relieved when they were finally grown enough to leave the house.
Time's Up is somewhat different from the band's last album, Hawaii, in that it has a looser, almost practice session-like feel. Songs are less composed and less lengthy, and the album seems to be much more about action and reaction as the band explodes their way through this short set. As a result though, the sound is less metal (in the Black Sabbath sense) and less punk (in the Black Flag sense) and more spazz and freak (in the Brainiac and US Maple sense). Perhaps it is the jazz influence (they even covered Sun Ra on a 7") coming through louder and clearer.
The album starts off with the driving "Of Course, Nowadays, They Call it Stalking" whose crunching guitar riff sounds quite a bit like "Bulls on Parade." However, instead of mixing in political hoo-ha, the Juanitas mix in math rock stuttering and change-ups. I guess the Juanitas save all their hoo-ha-ing for "Freedom Now!," where disembodied voices chant a call and response of "What do you want? FREEDOM! When do you want it? NOW!" Following two minutes of jazzy open space ("Self-Loathing-isms"), the crunch and sear guitars of this song give the EP a fittingly tense and explosive ending.
Last of the Juanitas aren't some Zapatista freedom fighters though. They are out to kick ass, but it's your ass that they'll be kicking. In "Make You Cry," Lana Rebel plays a nimble bass lead-in before lashing out "I'm gonna find out what makes you cry" as the guitar and drums get raucous and trashy. The EP's strongest track (both power- and quality-wise) is also it's shortest, the title track "Time's Up." At only 78 seconds, the Juanitas play loud, the Juanitas play fast, and, importantly, the Juanitas play together. Members of the band scream out unmiked as the guitars pound their hammers through the heaviest of metals.
Where "Time's Up" is about precision and being tight, "Big-Eyed Space Girl" is about being loose as guest vocalist (and guitarist) Mike Coumatos yells out "no no no no no" in a whiney, yelping squall. The instruments backing the yelping vocals start out precise, but by the end of the song, they have degraded into a frenzied whirlwind.
Last of the Juanitas are a rare band in that they can play together while also playing powerfully and explosively. As a result, the massive amount of power and energy the band puts into their music is directly felt through your stereo speakers.
|
