Formed in the winter 1992 with the line-up of Zach on vocals, Dunk on bass, Rudy on lead guitar, Mark on rhythm guitar and Phil on drums, Julie’s Dead can be best described as the sound you get when students, exchange students and drop outs are given musical instruments and too much free time. After a brief but eventful 18 months this line up fizzled out with a one-off reunion in 2009 (without Rudy who was now back in Indonesia) which although didn't lead to anything, left Zach and Dunk wondering what if...?
Fast forward another 10 years with sudden and unexpected interest (via the ubiquitous Facebook) in Northampton, bands from back in the day Julie's Dead were asked to reform.
Zach and Dunk decided to give this project a go with the intention of a reboot and refresh with a new line up rather than a rehash and crash with the old. They now get a genuine buzz from performing songs that were written in those heady days (albeit with a few tweaks) and discovering they still stand up today.
They now form the core of the more mature Julie's Dead live sound ripping up venues 30 years later taking their original visceral misfits meets black flag sound and crowbars some fresh fruit era Dead Kennedys in for good measure. I would also suggest a Stooges influence can be found in here too, and perhaps a little Radio Birdman. Zach remains on lead vocals, Dunk has moved to rhythm guitar and they're now joined by Jamie on Lead guitar, Rich on bass and Mart on Drums. Rudy remains part of the band remotely and is the face behind the mask on the "All These Years" cover.
So here we have a 4 track EP as a little taster for what will hopefully follow.
Joyride Suicide: Opening this track, we have a rockabillyesque guitar riff alongside a heavy fast drum beat. Vocals kick in quickly with that megaphone/echo effect all thru the track. Lyrically, a simple message for the youth of today who think it a macho image to steal cars for the fun of it, often ending in tragedy, be it death or severe injury. The main tragedy being the death of innocents. “hit the wall, kill you all. now your done”. The stark and straight to the point words makes wonder if the writer has had personal experience of this.
Section 8: Nifty little bass intro to this, always nice to hear. Mental health seems to be a regular topic in music these days, which is hardly surprising considering the state the planet is in. This appears to be a personal insight into the workings of the mental health services, where after being committed under the mental health act, we see the effects on the mind. Almost brainwashing Clockwork Orange feel to this dark and morose track, yet needs to be heard. Sublime guitar and bass lines, almost but not quite over powering the vocals, reminds me of old 70’s rock band sounds. Me likey.
Bring out your Dead: A melancholic view of the funeral industry, the cost of dying, and the immoral use of the coercive hard sell tactics often used by funeral directors to glean as much money form the bereaved as they possibly can. Interesting opening line “despite your forward planning, you’re just a problem for the living, a problem exploited by some. And “and while your relatives are grieving, we’ll guilt them into upselling”. Says it all really. Seems odd that in some cases we value death more than life, kinda makes ya think. Quite an angry song, with some ripping guitar work between vocals, again a deep drum and bass line to accentuate the subject matter. THEY DON’T CARE ABOUT THE BODY, IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY.
All these Years: A song of vengeance and revenge. Many have been in a relationship centred around abuse, where the physical and mental torment becomes the norm. Whatever the relationship, genders etc, it is never acceptable to treat the one you so called love in an abusive manner. I think this song is a massive an important message to those of us who see it in people they know, time to do something about it and break the cycle. Check on ya friends, ya never know, you could save a life. A passionate and very descriptive account of being a victim and finally having the courage, albeit extreme, to end the violence. An instrumentally very busy tune, lots of riffy guitar work styles going, yet melodic at the same time. A clever and succinct track.
And there ya go. Only 4 tracks long, but containing many components you might not get from a full album by another band. As I have said earlier, here’s hoping for more, I certainly will be looking out for the next instalment, and very hopefully some gigs. Cheers
Words: Johnny Reay, Photos: Band Media
Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliesdead
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