First Listen: Jupiter One’s "Sunshower"

Sunshower blasts onto the scene with more of Jupiter One's retro inspired sounds.

The second album for the Brooklyn-based indie-rockers is full of catchy melodies and fun, upbeat tunes that have a tendency to get stuck in your head.  The dreamy, vintage-sounding songs have combined an off-the-wall freshness with pleasantly familiar melodies influenced by the likes of The Flaming Lips, MGMT, and the Beach Boys.

The album opener, "Volcano", lifts off with the trippy sounds of intergalactic travel before transitioning into a well-developed chorus that is playful and enticing.  There are plenty of synthesizers and guitars throughout, giving the album a warm and fuzzy feel, but don't be fooled!  The lyrics often hold deeper darker meanings than the instrumentation would have you believe!

From the single, "Flaming Arrow," to "Anna", to "Strange Teacher", the band's creative lyrical forces lead us through a series of strange tales about an arsonist burning down his ex-girlfriend's house, a love affair gone bad, and a lesson in submission, all wrapped up in a mixed bag of interesting melodies.

Singer K Ishibashi's voice is hauntingly charming.  His crisp, clear vocals can be best appreciated on songs like "Come On" and "People in the Mountain, People of the Ocean" - two of the best tunes on the record.  Both are uniquely upbeat and positive, which is a nice escape from the melancholy lyrics strewn throughout the rest of the tracks.  "People in the Mountain" is an acoustic, folky number that carries with it a hippie 'life is great' feeling.  The song is an excellent way to close out Juper One's latest genre-bending creation.

It's refreshing to see a band tackle vintage sounds and actually succeed in making them work in a modern context.  Jupiter One allows their old school melodies to take centre stage on Sunshower, adding just enough of a modern twist to make it all sound new again.

The album's musical diversity is so great that the CD sounds more like a mixed tape than a one-band work.  From the smoky darkness of a disco club, to cruising down the highway on a lazy summer day, Jupiter One delivers an eclectic sound that doesn't stray too far from the familiar, while still satisfying us ADHD-type personalities in need of that constant change.

For more info, visit http://www.jupiterone.com/home.html

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