The Rhythm Junks - Pop Off

I've been a close follower of Steven deBruyn's  carrier ever since I discovered El Fish in 1998. Steven is a superb harp player, but more importantly, one of those rare solists who understand that you don't need to be at the front to contribute meaningfully to the music. After El Fish disbanded, Steven started a very different, non-blues related project called The Rhythm Junks.

The RJ line-up is quite unusual since it features no harmony instrument: horns (two trumpets, two saxes), bass, drums and harmonica. I'd be hard pressed to fit them into a specific genre either: influences range from blues and jazz to punk, pop, groove, and even in this latest opus, disco. Yet apart from a little bit of electronic trickery played by Steven on an elaborate toy, the music is all played live on real instruments.

The stage set-up of the band says a lot on how the music sounds. Tony Gyselinck, the drummer, is at the front of the stage in the center, with the bassist on the right, Steven on the left, and the horn section behind him. And indeed, Tony's drumming is absolutely central to the RJ sound, it's both extremely elaborate and absolutely adequate, so that he's never showing off. This was already a characteristic trait of the Rhythm Junks' first album, Virus B23, which still sees the inside of my CD player on a regular basis.

The new CD, Pop Off is aptly named, and when I first heard the record I honestly thought it would be too pop for me. And yet, after a couple of attentive listens, I realised that while the material may seem more accessible at first, it's no less interesting, and more importantly, no less entertaining than the original opus.

Pop Off opens on an upbeat ska-ish tune called Join the Bus which is reminiscent of the heydays of ska in the late seventies but with an updated, modern sound. Join the Bus was quite high in the Belgian charts for a long while, and deservedly so. It brings a smile to your face, you can dance to it, what's not to like? Join the Bus doesn't set the mood for the whole record though, there are more introspective pieces like Kerosene, jazzier ones like the mad Monk it Up, and even a supremely cool disco cover, Moskow Diskow.

There's a good mix of instrumentals and vocal pieces. Steven seems to have found his singing voice, and he delivers his lyrics with a lot more assurance than he used to. The rest of the band is a lot more present on backing vocals as well, and the inclusion of a female trumpet player gives a new colour to that part of the arrangements. Steven's harp playing is top notch, as usual, and more interestingly it's cleverly part of the whole. There's plenty of harp in there, but ultimately few solos. Don't buyt this record for the harp playing though. Buy it cause it's groooooooooooooovy !

This new opus, just like the previous one, defies categorisation. It's a little less in your face, a little more accessible, but it's certainly no sell-off. I hope that the injection of quality pop will help the Rhythm Junks find a larger audience, because I want to be hearing the albums they'll hopefully be bringing out in the years to come. And I want a live CD/DVD release! So go purchase that new record, if you can't find it, buy it from iTunes, and pray as I do for the band to come near you.

Comments

[leonardo kenji]

try kwak ;-)

http://www.myspace.com/kwaklegroupe

[Benoit Felten]

Hey Leonardo,

Somthing tells me you've been talking with Fernando...

My report on St Aignan is coming up soon and I will definetely be talking about Kwak !