Howler

The band, Blue-Jay, turns in another album of ethereal pop music with its third full-length release, Howler. Spy novel inspired funk-punk meets orchestral reggae teetering at times on the edge of mawkishness, only to be saved by an elemental honesty that acts as proof that hardcore intensity and indie catchiness are actually complimentary. For fans of reality TV, Navaho blankets, internal combustion engines, lazy Sunday afternoons, rusty bicycle frames found in the basements of antebellum manor houses, and tightly tuned pop hooks sharp enough to pierce Kevlar. Howler zooms in directions not even the band’s long time fans will expect. Cheap, lowbrow and dirty in an exalted and spiritually uplifting way; nothing can compare—when all is said and done, and the turntable stops spinning—with Howler. Critics say the band has crashed on the reef of Sell-Outville; I say they are just reaching escape velocity. And this critic is ready to take that ride.
-- Flavio de LaToyota, Spun Magazine.

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Echoes: Words and Collage by Jay Larsen

I've always had a fascination with music reviews. Writing about music always seems like a futile endeavor, but sometimes it is oddly uplifting in a poetry of the absurd sort of way. All music reviews basically come down to "I listened to this music and liked it (or didn't). You should try listening (or not) as well."