The word velvet brings to mind many colors to me. If you’re like the iconic Seinfeld character George Constanza, you would drape yourself in velvet if it were socially acceptable. That being said, you can do both with it comes to listening to Jupiter In Velvet’s newest five-song EP Punk Goes The Velvet. For entertainment’s sake, how about draping yourself in these songs – you will be more socially aware of great music than anyone on your block. It won’t take long for you to be ensconced by this London-based crooner.
MORE ON JUPITER IN VELVET: https://jupiterinvelvet.com/
Ready for a thrill, Jupiter In Velvet sings in track one, “And So The Earth Stood Still”. From here on out, I will say Jupiter, as this male-voiced singer doesn’t note his real name in his press materials. That makes me like him even more. Much like Orville Peck, it adds a divine layer of mystery and mischievousness that adds to the legend, if you will. This song makes you more aware of your surroundings, as if you were on a merry-go-round and a life is being lived right before your eyes. Jupiter’s guitar is just on fire and from the get-go, you get a sense that his guitar beds are the foundation to this songs.
Track two, “Not Again” is faster paced, more hurried than the first track. It’s very punk and at times it’s irrelevant to know the lyrics (in my opinion); drown out the words. I became intoxicated by Jupiter’s guitar and the slamming drum work. The next song, “Please Don’t Ever Let Me Go” is a bit more subdued, but still has a reverb heavy music bed. I can’t quite say this is a David Bowie-esque tune, but Jupiter’s voice is close. The music bed has elements of punk, psychedelic pop rock. I loved the heavy bass guitar in this one, too. It drools along like something from The Cure. I think these songs are about love, and not wanting to be alone. Still, faced with being alone, in “Not Again”, Jupiter gets caught up in nostalgia or what he was comfortable doing.
Jupiter’s fourth track, “Dimestore Suave” is killer punk. It’s like chain smoking and coffee drinking, you can’t get enough of either. You just want to keep that motion of something touching your mouth. “Dimestore Suave” is another example of the Jupiter’s peculiar, but cute, way of hitting some falsettos and elongating the pronunciation of certain words. It’s also another piece of the highly entertaining lyrics: Adam dumped Eve a long time ago, now he’s addicted to that Criminal Minds show…oh Lord come get me cause I’m just so bored. The kick drum is equally on fire, and the guitar just continues to melt minds.
APPLE MUSIC: https://music.apple.com/us/album/punk-goes-the-velvet-ep/1531093594
“Get Out”, the EP’s final track, is another hum along tune, and Jupiter shows no signs of slowing down the ruckus of rock from his guitar. Shout it out, he sings, sending the listener into a strange rapture. When it’s all said and done, the story arc that Jupiter In Velvet creates in Punk Goes The Velvet is hard to put down.
Garth Thomas