Jukebox the Ghost is a is a Washington, D.C.-born, Philadelphia-based three-piece The band consists of Ben Thornewill (vocals & piano), Tommy Siegel (vocals & guitar) and Jesse Kristin (drums) whom are purveyors of fine indie-rock / piano-pop. My first experience with their music came at the hands of a cover they did of Jenny Owen Youngs Last Person. From there, I was intrigued and bought their debut 2008 album, Let Live and Let Ghosts. The album was chock full of fun tracks, Hold it In being one that really jumped out at me. The lyrics were fun, and lighthearted; the music was catchy and poppy. It all seemed bubbly and fun, without going overboard.
Fast forward to this week, and Jukebox the Ghost’s sophomore album, Everything Under the Sun, was released. When I first listened to the album, I was skeptical because of how much I enjoyed Let Live and Let Ghosts. After a few listens (10) I can certainly say this album is full of goodness. Its high spirited, fun loving, and a whole bunch of other positive 2 word descriptors. If you’ve followed along, you’ve heard their first released track Empire, what I’d call one of the best pop songs out there right now, the vocals sparkle, the song is incredibly catchy, and I think it’d be hard to find a better pop song out there right now. The melancholy, Summer Sun is actually one of my favorite tracks on this album. It begins in a melancholy, near ballad-like mood; builds to near anthemic levels. Even with this epic sounding build, it still comes across sweet and shows a growth on a musical level; after extensive touring and 2 years between albums this band is showing they have what it takes to make intelligent, insightful, and catchy music.
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