Guadalupe

Jesse's Girl
Independent Cassette

Review by Alphonse Leong

This tape's opening instrumental announces quite emphatically that Jesse's Girl know how to make delicious rock riffs. Called "Hunter," the track's thick guitar chords and pulsating, roaming rhythms hold your attention like only a well-designed piece can. This tape is full of good sounds: from an early Fleetwood Mac (pre-Lindsay Buckingham/Stevie Nicks sugaration) hard bluesy feel on "Dying for You," to an almost Knack-like quality on "Guadalupe."

The band's musicality is so pronounced that the lyrics seem like an afterthought, like "Please don't leave me, I'm dying for you" from, yes, "Dying for You." In any event, the vocals aren't earth-shattering and they're lowered in the mix, like an implicit admission that laying down grooves is the band's real game. If you like your songs neat and tidy with snappy structure, "Senorita" is Jesse's Girl's poppiest offering, with an actual attempt at a hooky chorus; but most of the other songs aren't intended to be sing-along numbers, you just feel 'em. A feature that stands out is Shane Impey's bass playing, which you can't help but notice in every song -- it's punctuating as hell!

As a six-song introduction, the aural equivalent of a sample tray of sausage from Safeway, this tape demands a taste.

Artist Contact Info: The band forgot to put a mailing address on the cassette, but you can email 'em at lhart@axionet.com.

First published in Drop-D Magazine on March 21, 1998

Index | Search | E-mail | Info | Copyright

Considering copying some of the images from this story?
Please read this first. Thanks.