Jape Squad – Breakfast With… - Spooky Records
Reviewed by Peter – 2-27-2005

Solid indie pop/rock album. Bill’s note describes Jape Squad as “VU meets Dylan”. I’d say there’s much more Velvet Underground, with a little Highway 61/Blonde on Blonde Dylan in the lyrics (a little). Styles vary (6/8-11 for example) and the songs don’t get repetitive. Electric organ provides a soundbed for many of the tracks, usually accompanied by distorted electric guitar. Check out 1,5,6 for some cool tracks, but the album is good all around, so play others without fear! FCC Clean as far as I could tell.

1. * Heather’s Head (2:37) – Mid-tempo, subdued energy. Starts with electric guitar, 60’s sounding electric organ soon thereafter. Simple, straightforward rock with decent lyrics.
2. Two Halves (3:11) – Mid-tempo, darker sound with distorted vocals and stiff drums. Has a Smashing Pumpkins feel to it.
3. Lookin’ For A Reason (4:39) – Down/mid-tempo, starts with contrasting acoustic guitar and heavily distorted, hard guitar riff, steady pulse throughout. Clear male vocals w/ decent lyrics, supporting vocals later.
4. Ryders (1:24) – Starts with monotone British male voice announcing over music. Voice fades to distant background, voices come in and out throughout the track. Music is simple, down-tempo rock.
5. * Bug Spawn (4:09) – Mid-tempo. Starts with faded guitar, clear VU-like vocals come in strong. Track is more melodic than hard-rockin’ with some piano in the background and nice guitar work.
6. * See The Sunshine (3:46) – Mid-tempo, has a distinctly 60’s/ early 70’s rock feel through upbeat guitar and supporting organ work. Nice vocals have good rock n’ roll attitude – reminds me of Kinks/Stones.
7. Bus Monkeys (4:27) – Driving, mid-tempo, starts with immediate Lou Reed vocals, which then get snarly and contrast sharply with pretty supporting female vocals. Verses tell a cool story with a Lou Reed feel, but chorus is weaker. Nice guitar work thrown in as well.
8. Title Track (Fried Mix) (1:10) – Sounds like beck with a cool guitar hook mixed equally with electronics, sounds from a barbeque (sizzle, clinking glasses) and voices.
9. Nothing At All (3:34) – Down-tempo, steady with cleaner guitar. Maybe b/c of #8, but this sounded like VU with some Beck elements in the languid feel and steady, somewhat detached vocals.
10. It Don’t Matter (3:03) - Mid-tempo, differs from other tracks – folk feel, vocals sounds very familiar, Lou Reed meets… Said Cleves? Elvis Costello? A cool blend of voices.
11. Clouds Move Underground (5:08) – Down-tempo, straightforward rock with slow, steady drum beat that paces the song well. It’s a solid track with some nice lyrics, but doesn’t really stand out from the rest of the album.