Live Review from Underground 117
:
1. Anthem
2. My Propeller
3. You and Your Cravings
4. That’s You
5. Rock ‘n’ Roll Queen
6. Grow Up
7. Sex
8. Urge
In just a few months, Jaded have come a long way. Shows at a January Shazza, Picnic in the Park and Lion Rock Festival have given the four-piece chance to hone their sound and fill out their live sets with a strong mix of covers and originals. Part of an exciting crop of new punk bands, Jaded revives the grunge ethos of the nineties with a late-teen angst and influences spanning Green Day, Nirvana and The 1975.
After recent school hall and park shows, Jaded looked far more at home playing in the late hours at Orange Peel, and delivered eight, electrically raw songs. Energetic guitarists Adam Sinclair and Zaine Dada shared vocal responsibilities, while drummer Jose Urbano and bassist Patrick Agabon held the ship together with tight rhythms. The set was scattered, out of tune and messy at times, but a mischievous, DIY punk spirit is what defines this close-knit group.
A heavier take on Arctic Monkeys’ brooding My Propeller allowed respite from breakneck guitar onslaught, while stand out song Grow Up’s fuzz riffs, fast-paced drumming, and cat wail backing vocals hid trenchant lyrics grappling with adolescence and adulthood.
Since early shows, the group has moved away from a purely grunge sound to incorporate a more pop punk and emo direction, evoking a La Dispute vein of open-hearted songwriting. The set revealed a band unafraid to unearth emotion; as told through the fraught, almost drunkenly slurred lyrics of You and Your Cravings, and a cover of the 1975’s longing, almost bitter Sex.
For the last song, Urge, all three guitar straps went down comically low for a hurricane of frantic guitar shrieks, sinister bass and hoarsely yelled lyrics. Sinclair’s guitar strap fell off but he continued singing while friends pulled him back together. An apt metaphor for the city’s close and burgeoning punk scene.
– El Jay
