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The Jolenes

Get It to Go

(In Music We Trust; US: 13 Jun 2006)

Ah, where would the world be without bubble gum pop? Would the USSR have dissolved if bubble gum pop never existed? Think about it. In the meantime, this Portland group concocts some lovely scoops of the sweet, infectious and hook-riddled sounds on “Ice Cream” as they talk about the various flavors while resembling an Americanized Elastica. Lead singer Katy Sanford has a sugar-coated voice on the buzzsaw numbers such as “Daddy Needs $” and the aptly-titled charmer “Sugar”. The Jolenes craft finely tuned songs that never grow stale thanks to the band’s youthful energy and exuberance on the straightforward and sinfully catchy “Make Me” and “Curses”. Despite these strong songs, the highlight could be the edgier “Frenchie” with thicker riffs fuelling the summery track. However, they throw a curveball into the mix with Stevie Nicks’ classic “Leather and Lace”. They lose the plot with the lone clunker “Pedro” which nobody would vote for.

Rating:

Originally from Cape Breton, MacNeil is currently writing for the Toronto Sun as well as other publications, including All Music Guide, Billboard.com, NME.com, Country Standard Time, Skope Magazine, Chart Magazine, Glide, Ft. Myers Magazine and Celtic Heritage. A graduate of the University of King's College, MacNeil currently resides in Toronto. He has interviewed hundreds of acts ranging from Metallica and AC/DC to Daniel Lanois and Smokey Robinson. MacNeil (modestly referred to as King J to friends), a diehard Philadelphia Flyers fan, has seen the Rolling Stones in a club setting, thereby knowing he will rest in peace at some point down the road. Oh, and he writes for PopMatters.com.


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