Old news, ‘old new’ bands, but still they come; some welcomed, others less so. Jubilee fall into the former category – this assembly of musicians sourced from outfits of greater acclaim and infamy than their new project delivers fuzzed-up pop-rock that ticks all boxes of immediacy. Rocket science? Get fucked mate – rock ‘n’ roll’s not pushed boundaries since the Seventies, and most of that’s best forgotten. It’s all about the confidence, the performance, the belief. And Jubilee have plenty of each.
Those other bands, for latecomers: The Icarus Line, Wires On Fire, Nine Inch Nails, Queens Of The Stone Age. The end product’s little like what an anticipated brew of such constituent parts might equal – Aaron North takes the lead, leaving his guitar-shredding ways in the past, while Michael Schuman, presently of QOTSA, guides these four offerings masterfully, his clear basslines a sign of the self-assuredness he’s developed since leaving Wires On Fire’s basement gigs for stadiums and arenas.
The standout of four is ‘Fuzz Are Down’, the sort of brilliantly pop yet punk song that you know, with its sing-along aesthetics and distorted accessibility, would slay indie clubs given a substantial radio push. It’s also indicative of the fact that Jubilee is no vanity project, a ‘super-group’ for geeks like me. The band wants you to know there’re legs in the five-piece, that this isn’t a stopgap fleeting fancy to fill time between West and East coast tours. Jubilee are here for the long-run, and the album’s on the way.
Old news, the collaborators on it – Josh Homme, Carla Azar and more – but no less welcome for its secrets being so badly kept. Anticipation proper begins here.
Video: 'Rebel Hiss' live at the Camden Barfly
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Read more reviews of this week's singles here
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8Mike Diver's Score