{"id":24785,"date":"2012-12-28T16:31:06","date_gmt":"2012-12-28T21:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=24785"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:44:24","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:44:24","slug":"jukebox-zeroes-in-gratia-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/jukebox-zeroes-in-gratia-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Jukebox Zeroes | In Gratia<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Derric Miller<\/span>
\n– Managing Editor —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"JBZ\"It only took around 11 years, but the most talented band to come out of Sioux Falls, S.D. in over a decade finally released an album of original music \u2014 26 songs to be exact. Well, not all are originals; each band member chose one cover song, so there\u2019s 21 originals and five covers. Picking covers was an apropos move by the band, since they started as a cover band all those years ago.<\/p>\n

The band is comprised of some of Sioux Falls\u2019 heaviest hitters from back in the day. Decades ago, when Sioux Falls actually had a music scene and the legendary Pomp Room to experience live music at, Jukebox Zero members were attached to the best bands in town, like Fall, Closet Monster, Wakefield, The Glory Holes, and Crash Alley, to name a few. Putting all of that talent together with the mind-boggling vocal abilities of Amy Ellsworth, you get a strange animal indeed \u2014 one who can write all original music that stands up against today\u2019s best and one who can do righteous justice to songs by Heart or Whitesnake. That\u2019s called an \u201canomaly.\u201d<\/p>\n

The quirky start of the album, \u201cIn Gratia,\u201d makes you think you may be listening to Epica or Nightwish or some other pompous symphonic metal band. Luckily, it\u2019s only over a minute and then you get into the meat of the matter, \u201cPink Jesus.\u201d Once that track hits, razor riffs carve a hole in whatever quietude you experienced from the churchy \u201cIn Gratia.\u201d This is what Jukebox Zeroes do best; walk the line between Rock and Metal and mesh it so you aren\u2019t even sure how to categorize it. And why do you need to? There\u2019s a ton of singers classified as \u201cpowerhouse singers,\u201d from Adele to Lzzy Hale. Yeah \u2026 no. They need to hear Ellsworth wail on this song \u2014 and the opening screams on a later track, \u201cBetrayal\u201d \u2014 and get back to studying.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrass Ring\u201d is one of those \u201ceveryman\u201d songs. It\u2019s about the daily grind, the corporate ladder, or as the lyrics go, \u201cWhen will I be the one, the victor of the spoils?\u201d The pacing is sort of Classic Rock, maybe akin to a Night Ranger anthem. Jeff Koller\u2019s drumming stands out as well, with manic fills and off-the-charts precision.<\/p>\n

While they can tear it up with heavy songs, \u201cSad January\u201d is a ballad, an atmospheric, flowing keyboard-heavy composition. Just focus on the lyrics, \u201cIt\u2019s a sad January, when your voice is not your own. You scream into the darkness, and still you\u2019re all alone.\u201d Ellsworth\u2019s haunting vocal delivery makes it even more bereft.<\/p>\n

If you purchase the CD \u2014 and there\u2019s two of them (Blue and Red discs) \u2014 the last track on Blue is \u201cRearrange.\u201d As Jukebox Zero spans decades in their songwriting, you\u2019ll get a hint of Triumph in this song. The guitar riffs are heavy, doomy, and yet groovy. This song is about changing your life for the better, or maybe having a mid-life crisis and throwing everything to the wind. Interpret however you want \u2026<\/p>\n

The Red Disc is the band getting less serious, with the covers and of course starting with \u201cMullet Sandwich.\u201d This is an overt homage to \u201880s metal, to all the bands that made that decade so decadent, like Warrant, Ozzy, Whitesnake, Def Leppard, Great White, Scorpions, Cinderella, Bon Jovi \u2026 and all the others. The hilarious opening lets you know what you are in for, and this is the first time on the album you get that while talented, the band also has a hell of a sense of humor.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoin\u2019 Down\u201d is a stripped down blues song (for about half the song, anyway), a bit out of place when you take in the entirety of the album. If there\u2019s anywhere it fits, it has to come after \u201cMullet Sandwich.\u201d They stay slightly off track with the next song too, \u201cDrinkin\u2019 Daddy\u2019s Whiskey,\u201d another bluesy rocker that doesn\u2019t pull its weight compared with the other originals.<\/p>\n

Things pick up when you get to \u201cGoing Through the Motions,\u201d a mellow, acoustic led composition that showcases the prowess of the guitarists, Fisher and Gunderson. At a few points in the song, you\u2019ll almost hear an acoustic shout out to Jim Croce; yeah, it\u2019s that kind of somber, and stellar. When Jukebox Zeroes get deep, it works.<\/p>\n

The final original track is \u201cChristian,\u201d another acoustic and electric song, this time with Koller on vocals. (He also sang lead on about half of \u201cGoin\u2019 Down.\u201d) They get earthy, a bit folksy and gritty here; somehow, when you think you have them figured out, they throw this at you. That\u2019s Jukebox Zeroes in a nutshell; stop trying to figure them out, and just enjoy the music.<\/p>\n

The last five songs, the covers, are total bragging rights. It\u2019s the \u201clook what I can do\u201d moment on the album. Can Amy Ellsworth ACTUALLY hold her own against Ann Wilson on Heart\u2019s \u201cBarracuda?\u201d Yes, she can. It\u2019s maddening how powerful her voice is. Can the guitarists recreate John Sykes\u2019 solo on \u201cCrying in the Rain\u201d? Somehow \u2026 yes. Is their cover of Triumph\u2019s \u201cFight the Good Fight\u201d even believable? You probably have read the answer twice already \u2026<\/p>\n

When you release an album of 26 songs, there\u2019s bound to be a few hiccups, and that\u2019s been noted. Overall, though, this immense undertaking, writing and recording and producing 21 original songs at this quality, needs to be applauded. Congrats to Jukebox Zeroes for getting their fans some original music to crank; now just don\u2019t wait another decade or so before this happens again.<\/p>\n

Genre: Hard Rock, Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nEldon Fisher \u2014 guitars, vocals
\nJason Ellsworth \u2014 bass, guitars, vocals
\nAmy Ellsworth \u2014 lead vocals, keys
\nGeoff Gunderson \u2014 guitars, vocals
\nJeff Koller \u2014 drums, vocals<\/p>\n

Track listing:
\n1. In Gratia
\n2. Pink Jesus
\n3. Brass Ring
\n4. Rose Colored Glasses
\n5. Sad January
\n6. Betrayal
\n7. Song Of Life
\n8. Disarmed
\n9. Somewhere In America
\n10. All Along
\n11. Forbidden
\n12. What Might Have Been
\n13. Rearrange
\n14. Mullet Sandwich
\n15. Goin’ Down
\n16. Drinkin’ Daddy’s Whiskey
\n17. Get Up
\n18. Going Through The Motions
\n19. Someday You’ll Remember Me
\n20. Meant To Be
\n21. Christian
\n22. Barracuda
\n23. Crying In The Rain
\n24. Fight the Good Fight
\n25. Hocus Pocus
\n26. Roller<\/p>\n

Label: JBZ Records<\/p>\n

Online: www.jukeboxzeroes.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.4\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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