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Tag: Jena Berlin

Jena Berlin- Quo Vadimus

Jena Berlin- Quo Vadimus

www.myspace.com/jenaberlin

Jump Start records (www.jumpstartrecords.com)

Rock with a hint of socialist optimism

Although one should not rely on Jena Berlin’s new album Quo Vadimus as a direct definition of socialism, there is definitely a hint of it in this rock album.

The band’s name comes from the two cities where Karl Marx attended college. One would expect to feel this through the music, but instead there is a feeling of a lost cause.

In “I Swear We’re Leaving” I swore I had heard this song somewhere else and remembered that it was just commercial sounding. “Who am I?” is a phrase shouted throughout. It would be a good idea for Jena Berlin to figure out who exactly they are before they are lumped into a genre that is not quite punk, not quite mainstream and not quite a band that is sellable to either side.

Although some gimmicks were employed in “Crossed Arms” it wasn’t disappointing. The band would probably be better live, as they scream “Get up!/Get up!” They have some finesse in this song and the rhythm changes quite often, keeping one’s attention. On stage one could imagine during these changes the band is going crazy, and I can only hope they do because that may be their only saving point.

Throughout the Quo Vadimus there are aspects that could make the band successful and almost make this album an astounding one. But in the end one could not distinguish Jena Berlin from all the other wannabe punk bands. Just from listening to them, one would so badly want them to come together more gracefully, less rehearsed and more genuine.

Quo Vadimus is a record one should keep in the back of the mind. Watch this band, they have a spark of potential but are just waiting for that moment of “Eureka!”

-Marilyse Diaz

mjork@independentclauses.com

Jena Berlin-Passion Waits as the Program Keeps Going

jenaberlin

Band: Jena Berlin

Album: Passion Waits as the Program Keeps Going

Best Element: Artistic incorporations into old-school emo

Genre: Emotional Hardcore (or True Emo)

Website: www.jenaberlin.com

Label: Unsigned (Sinful, really)

Band E-mail: jenaberlinrock@hotmail.com

Ever since I’ve known of emotional hardcore, I’ve always harbored a dream of eventually being the vocalist for a true emo band- be that one guy who runs around on stage, screaming his guts out, flailing, and generally going nuts. But I also want to be able to sing- to be in a band that flexes its artistic muscle just as much as its intensity. I want to be creative and intense.

If I had my way, I’d be lead singer for Jena Berlin- cause Jena Berlin is creatively intense and intensely creative. Their album Passion Waits as the Program Keeps Going is without a doubt the greatest emo album I’ve heard in the 2000’s. Its combination of musicality and intensity is unrivaled by any other band in the scene that I know of.

Every song sounds like a manifesto- like a battle cry from the front lines of a war somewhere. Whether it’s the extremely dissonant hardcore of “Looking Over the Wall”, the melodically mid-tempo “Aiming for August”, the punch-in-the-teeth intensity of “Nothing Personal, Just Business”, or the piano-led interlude “A Bar in Michigan”, every track here holds a fire in it that either brims right below the surface or explodes outward in very noticeable ways.

And every song here is different- not one of them is a straight four-on-the-floor rager, although each song usually has a part that makes you want to throw up your fist and scream your head off. The intro of “Looking Over the Wall” is as punishing as they get, but they also throw down a twinkly indie-rock interlude in the middle of the song. You may not believe me, but I can hear reggae influence on “Maybe New York”. There’s definitely some punk influence, as in the intro to “Fine Line” before it reveals an atmospheric indie-rock bent in the instrumentation. Then, as soon as the atmospheric synth gets situated, it’s dropped for a straight-ahead rock section. And then it’s eventually brought back. It’s genuinely unpredictable music. I can’t ever guess whether the vocalist will come in with a sung vocal, a screamed vocal, or a yelled vocal- they’re just that diverse and complex. Parts that sound like they should be accompanied by sung vocals end up being screamed and vice-versa. I would say that Jena Berlin sounds like it wrote in a vacuum, but it really sounds more like the members studied a generic hardcore band and purposefully ripped apart every convention they could find.

Needless to say, it’s brilliant. I haven’t ever enjoyed a true emo album all the way through before, as the staunch, repetitive stance usually puts me off about 15 minutes in. But Jena Berlin encompasses so much territory in their debut album that I can’t help but continue to listen- I don’t know what’s coming next, so I’m compelled. This is what exciting hard music is. This should be required listening for any hard band that’s starting out. Period.

-Stephen Carradini

independentclauses@hotmail.com