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GALLERY: Sex, love and rock 'n roll
Fans of melodic, thoughtful rock music will appreciate the quiet passion and craft that has gone into Just Jinjer's sixth album. Eloquent and stylish, lead singer Art Matthews now carries the gravitas of a Dave Matthews or Evan Dando, a far cry from the panties-wetting pop poster boy who won the hearts of a teen audience with the release of 1996's "All comes round".
In those days, the heady and hairy days of early Squeal, Sugardrive, Lithium and Nine, making sensitive pop rock was enough to earn you the ire of music critics obsessed with the crass coolness of grunge and noise. Just Jinjer's second album, "Something for now", featured a cover of Rodriguez' Sugarman, a move calculated to further alienate the diehard rock fans infesting South Africa.
This petty history might in some way account for the fact that Just Jinjer are now residents of the US of A, and have left the cesspools and slushfunds of Roodepoort (Art's birthplace) far behind. They also appear to have altered the spelling of their name - maybe they got tired of Americans pronouncing it wrong. And unless it's a typo, Art also seems to have changed his name - to Ard. Ah well, the mysteries of breaking the American market. And "Just Jinjer" the cd deserves to break big. Matthews, Brent Harris (drums), Denholm Harding (bass) and Sandy Chila (guitars, keyboards) play as a band with confidence, with minimal histrionics and a smooth, tight sound. "Time of your Life" is probably representative of the Just Jinjer philosophy, a philosophy that seems to imbue the music with a cheerful optimism. "Now is the time of your life/ now is the time/ it's a sweet ride to the end of the line."
If you scour the net, you get a fair idea of the hard work that Just Jinjer are putting into their career. For example, there's a review by an Orange County local, proclaiming the band's virtues. "A month ago, this relatively small nightspot was pretty much empty on Wednesday nights. Then came a band called Just Jinjer. The once-sparse crowd grew each week as word spread that this was no ordinary band playing at the brewery on Wednesday nights."
That's the kind of thing that makes you soften towards a band. Six albums down the line, and still they're putting in the hard hours. "Just Jinjer" is the latest manifestation of that dedication, a fine album that just gets more interesting and exciting every time you listen to it.
- Chris Roper
Fans of melodic, thoughtful rock music will appreciate the quiet passion and craft that has gone into Just Jinjer's sixth album. Eloquent and stylish, lead singer Art Matthews now carries the gravitas of a Dave Matthews or Evan Dando, a far cry from the panties-wetting pop poster boy who won the hearts of a teen audience with the release of 1996's "All comes round".
In those days, the heady and hairy days of early Squeal, Sugardrive, Lithium and Nine, making sensitive pop rock was enough to earn you the ire of music critics obsessed with the crass coolness of grunge and noise. Just Jinjer's second album, "Something for now", featured a cover of Rodriguez' Sugarman, a move calculated to further alienate the diehard rock fans infesting South Africa.
This petty history might in some way account for the fact that Just Jinjer are now residents of the US of A, and have left the cesspools and slushfunds of Roodepoort (Art's birthplace) far behind. They also appear to have altered the spelling of their name - maybe they got tired of Americans pronouncing it wrong. And unless it's a typo, Art also seems to have changed his name - to Ard. Ah well, the mysteries of breaking the American market. And "Just Jinjer" the cd deserves to break big. Matthews, Brent Harris (drums), Denholm Harding (bass) and Sandy Chila (guitars, keyboards) play as a band with confidence, with minimal histrionics and a smooth, tight sound. "Time of your Life" is probably representative of the Just Jinjer philosophy, a philosophy that seems to imbue the music with a cheerful optimism. "Now is the time of your life/ now is the time/ it's a sweet ride to the end of the line."
If you scour the net, you get a fair idea of the hard work that Just Jinjer are putting into their career. For example, there's a review by an Orange County local, proclaiming the band's virtues. "A month ago, this relatively small nightspot was pretty much empty on Wednesday nights. Then came a band called Just Jinjer. The once-sparse crowd grew each week as word spread that this was no ordinary band playing at the brewery on Wednesday nights."
That's the kind of thing that makes you soften towards a band. Six albums down the line, and still they're putting in the hard hours. "Just Jinjer" is the latest manifestation of that dedication, a fine album that just gets more interesting and exciting every time you listen to it.
- Chris Roper
