{"id":42420,"date":"2011-09-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-09-09T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/words-on-waves\/"},"modified":"2011-09-09T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-09-09T00:00:00","slug":"words-on-waves","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/words-on-waves\/","title":{"rendered":"Words On Waves"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the pleasures of the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival<\/a> is that you never know what sort of unexpected treat you\u2019re going to come across.\u00a0 It might a garlic-infused corn dog, or garlic ice cream, or perhaps a tasty band you\u2019ve never heard of playing live in front of an appreciative, sun-splashed crowd.\u00a0 While wandering the festival a few weeks back, my family and I sat down and caught half a set by talented Los Angeles quartet Just Off Turner.<\/p>\n

I was immediately impressed by the musicality of their all-original set\u2014they know what they\u2019re doing and are able to combine solid pop songwriting with a distinctive m\u00e9lange of soul and jazz influences.\u00a0 At times they capture the hyperkinetic energy of a Dave Matthews Band jam inside a soulful tune displaying the pop smarts of a Maroon 5.\u00a0 At other times there\u2019s an undercurrent of rather Steely Dan-ish sophisticated jazz-pop that\u2019s a refreshing twist on their sound.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

The quartet manages this variety of tones and feels courtesy of lead vocalist Bryan Mounce doubling as lead guitarist, and keyboardist Phil Metzler doubling as harmony vocalist (bassist Stephen Andrews and drummer Eric Gustafson are equally adept at melding their talents to whatever the song calls for).\u00a0 The fact that guitar and keys receive roughly equal focus adds texture and variety to these tunes, which might feature the guitar out front one song, the keys the next, and the vocals a third.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

As for those vocals, Mounce shows a definite Adam Levine influence in his swerving, soulful approach and inflections\u2014a bit of a crooner, but one who can also belt it out on an upbeat number like opener \u201cWaiting On The Strength,\u201d or go all breathy Dave Matthews\/John Mayer on a more laidback, sensual cut like \u201cFaces.\u201d\u00a0 In Gilroy, JOT\u2019s set included both \u201cFaces\u201d and the expansive ballad \u201cRoom With a View.\u201d\u00a0 Of the tunes here that I didn\u2019t hear them play live, a favorite is \u201cLines On Love,\u201d which skitters along on a propulsive beat, dropping sharp lines such as \u201cto be loved is to be free\u201d left and right on the way to its wide-open, driving chorus. <\/p>\n

Just Off Turner also add dimension to their music with clever arrangement bits like having the second and third verses of \u201cBetter When\u201d fall back to just drums and the complex bass line before reinstating keys and guitar on the way into the punchy chorus.\u00a0 Here and elsewhere, JOT manage to make their four instruments sound like considerably more.<\/p>\n

Another appealing aspect of Just Off Turner is that, despite the often-supple nature of the melodies, they don\u2019t sand all the edges off their music.\u00a0 For example, \u201cDrunken Dances\u201d is smooth and steady at first, but they don\u2019t hesitate to veer off toward the end into a long, entertaining guitar-drum jam.\u00a0 They serve the song, but they aren\u2019t a paint-by-numbers pop band; they throw in some flair and aren\u2019t afraid to explore and solo.<\/p>\n

Words On Waves<\/i> showcases Just Off Turner as a band to watch, a quartet that offers both excellent musical chops and sophisticated pop craftsmanship\u2014a winning combo in any context.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":30745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[8745],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-42420","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-just-off-turner","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42420"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42420\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=42420"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=42420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}