aaamusic | On 04, Oct 2010

Right from the opening few chords of ‘Jamie Jane’, it is made clear that The Jokers are a hard rock band carved from the same material as bands such as AC/DC, with a love of high-octane, bad-boy-smirk rock n roll with no pretence. Starting with a glam metal yeah and kicking into action with energetic power chords and a punk chant. The lyrics are simple and sleazy and of course centred around the shining beacon of rock. Percussion is held up with gleaming cymbal smashes, and a hop-skip snare that leads to stomping cowbell in the singalong chorus. The bridge is tongue-in-cheek and stripped to cheeky muttering and thumping drums before the guitar solo wails into being. The guitars are chunky yet agile and overlay everything else with blankets of chords. The vocals are a surreal blend of Placebo and Aerosmith, but in retain both tune and attitude, especially the latter in a nasal sneer.

Although there’s nothing particularly exotic being played, what is happening here is enjoyable straight-up rock owing a big debt to AC/DC and quite possibly Hanoi Rocks in its mischievous sense of fun and the ability to kick out a healthy sense of rhythm beneath its buzzing guitar riffs. What else is worth a mention is how organic The Jokers feel. There’s no sense of manufacture in the sound or tone. We are given the sound of a bunch of guys with their instruments and little computer meddling, giving the impression of a live performance, injecting a real energy into the track. ‘Jamie Jane’ isn’t treading new ground, but these old stamping grounds are far from unwelcome and in a world of autotune and quantising, such a refreshingly honest sound is much appreciated.

Author: Katie H-Halinski