Canadian trio LES JUPES (The Skirts?), fronted by distinctive deep-voiced singer/songwriter and Head In The Sand 'face' Michael Falk, have concocted a powerful blend of simmering, shimmering guitar-driven tapestries and oddly compelling lyrics. The resulting songs are largely concerned with intangible concepts and may even be haunted, but it doesn't detract from the fact that, in 'Modern Myths', this Winnipeg-based outfit have come up with a winner.
The jagged-edge all-out rock n' roll opener 'Myth #3 (The Mountain)' gives way to the downtempo contrast of standout acoustic-based showpiece 'One Solemn Oath'; a track that's powerful and all consuming despite the foot-off-the-gas approach. Even though the pace is slowed down to a near standstill, it's mind blowing long before the dramatic final surge of a record that seems to self-destruct rather than stop.
Elsewhere, there's the radio playlist contender 'Mathematics', and the frenzied energy of 'Last Dance' a song that benefits from seamless shifts in gear, an extra-loud bassline and wild hurdy-gurdy Hammond breaks.
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The gentle tremelo reverb of 'Myth #7 (Honour)' unshackles itself from low-key beginnings to intensify in tandem with the gathering momentum, whereas the the drama is wild-eyed, surreal and smouldering during the wits' end delivery of penultimate track 'How Do You Keep This All In Line'; this before it dissolves in a haze of spaced out digital FX.
The production and the mixing processes must have both been spot-on, as the overall sound contributes massively to the incredible impact that most of these tracks have, whether they break the speed limit or not.
If you miss 'Modern Myths', you'll be sorry; this writer strongly advocates that you give it a listen even if what I've written makes it sound at odds with your popular music taste.
Les Jupes on the Head In The Sand website
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