What I liked most about Jumpship Astronaut is the band’s sharp balance of rock and synth. That fine line between sounding too machine and less human is perfectly aligned in the quartet’s Human EP. And, boy, is it a good one.
“Alive” starts things out with its crisp vocals and brave use of seemingly lasers laced with brilliant guitar riffs. The wall of sound is engaging on this track and as a listener I felt determined to hit repeat, one, two, three, even four times. I loved the percussion bridge; the drum parade made good on a promise to get me to dance!
“Change” is one of those songs that sounds like it could be Dead or Alive, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran or even Human League. Let’s pretend they all got in a room and spilled their drinks and “Change” is the mopped up result. It’s a fun track with this squiggle of a sound from the synth.
“Too Much Thought” has more focus on the lyrics. I took away from it that they wanted to express what they thought what was going to happen, and of course, it didn’t end up that way. What did happen was a nice track where the music bed reminded me of small wind chimes flowing in the wind, or the sound that tiny mirrors would make from the sun’s reflecting beams.
“Jeane” has a silent beauty and a bit more Robbie Williams than Depeche Mode. I loved the heartbeat pulse; the guitar riff is solid and draws much praise.
“Fascination” has a throbbing base, alongside a tumbling soundscape. The sweet guitar sound reminded me a little bit of very early U2. The edgy guitar riffs are welcomed and perfectly paired alongside crushing percussion and confident vocal delivery. The last track “Our Best Days” completes a superb selection.
Overall, the Jumpship Astronaut’s Human is by far one of the best EP’s I’ve reviewed in some time. The songs really pierced my dancing soul and nourished my indie rock tastes. “Alive” and “Change” are the duo standouts, but listeners will be jumping for joy on any of the tracks.
