Jukebox the Ghost: Everything Under the Sun

    If you ever listen lately to WIRT, FM 98.7, the RIT radio station called "The Pulse of Music", then you may have heard the track "Schizophrenia" by Jukebox the Ghost. Well, I did, and it made me want to hear more. The story goes that the Jukebox the Ghost members, Ben Thornewill, Tommy Siegel and Jesse Kristin, met at George Washington University, in D.C., and formed a group called Sunday Mail in 2003. That died away after a couple years, but they continued to write new material and came up with a new name identity to start fresh.
    In listening back to their first album, Let Live and Let Ghost (2008), Jukebox the Ghost has come a long way, but still has some to go. Let Live and Let Ghost was under produced/edited and the songs are pretty straight forward happy piano rock songs, but with glimpses of ingenious use of the piano in writing and syncopated rhythm selection. Apparently Ben Thornewill was a classically trained pianist, and it shows in his execution and creativity. Nevertheless, the songs are fun to listen to, and actually remind me slightly of the group fun. with their power pop funkiness and randomness at times.
    Jukebox the Ghost's latest arrival, from September 7, 2010, is no exception. But, their sound is much more refined, and, well, more theirs. They like to employ a particular synth sound, like on "Schizophrenia", along with more distinct vocals--even though Thornewill and Siegel take turns on different tracks (and are also the song writing minds behind the group). Thornewill has a higher voice, somewhat like Passion Pit (but not soooo high via falsetto), while Siegel has more of a lower twangy country sound. The main difference between their former album and Everything Under the Sun is how adventurous they have become. The latter introduces more genres into their repertoire, while not exactly choosing one to stick with; which is why I think they have a ways to go. Obviously, their main style is sort of a power pop piano rock, but this album hints at  folk ("Summer Sun"), a tame progressiveness, dance beats ("The Sun"), sort of post-rock ("So Let Us Create") and even a softer side in "Summer Sun" and "So Let Us Create" (rarely seen otherwise, yet definitely a good addition that will help to create more diversity on future albums). At times, the arpeggiated chords or piano elements make me think of Muse, and many of their songs have been called Beatles/McCartney either-esque. I definitely like how the harmonies go into minor keys sporadically, though briefly. If you would like more detail about each individual song, you can read about them straight from the horse's mouth on their website here.
    Specifically, my opinion, out of 11 tracks, those that interest me the most stylistically are: 1. "Schizophrenia", 2. "Half Crazy", 3. "Empire", 4. "Summer Sun", 6. "The Sun", 7. "So Let Us Create", and 9. "The Sun (Interlude)". The rest, to me, comprise a style that is less unique and distinct, though I like the short piano intros to "Carrying" and "The Popular Thing". The whole album can be heard on their website here, along with a few covers. Or, just check out one of my picking and probably my favorite, "So Let Us Create", in the MixPod player. Enjoy!