Jupe Jupe

Jupe Jupe clearly like to get their '80s on, but that's not a pejorative observation. This is a band full of left turns -- for instance, on first listen Jupe Jupe might sound British, but they're actually American, and while you might expect an American band of this sort to operate out of L.A. or New York, they in fact hail from Seattle. Obviously, the Pacific Northwest isn't exactly famous for turning out bands of new wave revivalists, but Jupe Jupe seem to follow their own path resolutely right down the line. On their second album, Reduction in Drag, Jupe Jupe come off like the wildly successful result of some musical geneticist's ambitious attempts to fuse vintage Depeche Mode and Duran Duran. Sleek and sonically supple, Reduction in Drag is a happy marriage of synth pop and Roxy Music-influenced new romantic stylings. And while those without a taste for '80s-derived sounds might not be able to find their way into these waters, anyone with even a passive appreciation for expertly applied, fluid synth riffs, drama-filled vocals, infectious pop choruses, and deft dance-rock grooves will be able to ease right into Reduction in Drag. And despite Jupe Jupe's preference for the musical flavors of another era, they nevertheless make those sounds seem entirely applicable to the present day. - allmusic.com

Jupe Jupe, a quartet group from the grand city of Seattle, joined forces with producer Matt Bayles to craft Lonely Creatures. Bayles is known for his previous work with Minus the Bear and worked with Jupe Jupe to musically engineer tunes to fit the mood of the album. The album itself is littered with electro-beats that propel the theme forward song after song. This theme of a science fiction alternative future is both boldly stated and quietly underlined throughout the verses and bridges. In songs like “The Soft Machine” we hear the slow and soothing lyrics of a hope still to come, “our well intended plans misshaped by human hands are made for all and made to fall but maybe…” This theme is strongly reminiscent of Gary Numan’s album concept for Telekon. For those who may have listened to Numan’s rendition, Jupe Jupe may be a welcome rehash of those themes. Putting past influences aside, it is apparent that Lonely Creatures was lovingly crafted by all those involved. Each song has it’s own signature, and the beats wrapping up the songwriting are excellently crafted.

Ultimately, Lonely Creatures serves its message to its audience on a well-prepared platter. The sense of a long forgotten land is well-crafted and leaves the listener willing to roam its lands for at least a few rotations. - KJHK

Seattle, WA-based new wave group, Jupe Jupe, are about to reinstall some "Faith In What You Hear". The infectious single's mellow moods are a precursor to the upcoming ten-song album Lonely Creatures which drops on September 19th.

We managed to check in with the band and get their take on the song... here's what they said: “'Faith in What You Hear' is about the possible unseen danger of blind trust. Sometimes the words we think we want to hear can turn out to be as hurtful as what we tried to avoid. Musically we wanted to lay this melancholy on a pulsing dance feel, going for an electropop/post-punk sound. We've always enjoyed music and vocals that are a bit mismatched in that way." - Pure Grain Audio

Jupe Jupe
Crooked Kisses
[Jupe Jupe Music 2014]

Despite its melancholy – even creepy – subject matter, Crooked Kisses, the third album from the Seattle quartet, Jupe Jupe, is filled with life-affirming choruses and hummable reverb-drenched guitar riffs. The rhythm chugs along, building against a backdrop of synths and big drums, and vocalist My Young‘s gentle croon. If the record was just a collection of retro synth-pop like the opener, “Pieces of You,” it would be well worth the listen, but there are clever twists throughout. The shimmery guitar line in “Whispers Kill” plays on the “everyone’s a spy” line to slyly incorporate some 1960s spy movie soundtrack and surf sounds. And although things never get too heavy, tracks like “Autumn October” and “Darkness” add a sharper, rock edge that keeps the band from sounding too much like its 80s New Wave influences.

While the entire album is solid, “Love to Watch You Fall” and “All the Things We Made” have the group firing on all cylinders: the dark lyrics, stellar melodies, and layered instrumentation against a solid classic dance beat. - The Owl Mag

The tsunami of bands in thrall to ’80s synth pop shows no signs of abating. Count Seattle quartet Jupe Jupe as one of the city’s most avid devotees of this sound (they add guitar, bass, and drums for more oomph). They can do the swooning, melodic approach as well as the mechanically danceable style, and on “Texas Endless” from their 2010 album Invaders, Jupe Jupe executed a wry homage to Kraftwerk’s “Europe Endless.” (The best song on the same album is titled “El Topo,” a possible nod to Alejandro Jodorowsky’s awesome cult film.) The group’s self-released new album, Crooked Kisses, features even more polish and hooky songwriting, pitched at an emotional tenor between Soft Cell’s “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye” and Naked Eyes’ “(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me.” Hope you like drama… - The Stranger

Seattle synth pop outfit Jupe Jupe released its first album, Invaders, little more than a year before this follow-up. Releasing back-to-back albums might not seem a good thing, considering that Invaders was quite a stylistically confused affair. However, the band has come up with the goods this time, as though it had been saving the great stuff for its sophomore album. As I said about Jupe Jupe in my Invaders review last year: “They have strong songs – they just have to deliver an album that has a consistent sound, pick an era and run with it.” Someone in the group is reading its press, because it appears that they zeroed in on that precise statement, and the band has become much more of an individualistic entity.

While Invaders had a clutch of great songs, it didn’t really know what it wanted to be. Reduction in Drag, sees the band throwing its influences into the proverbial blender and mashing the puree button. Clearly, Jupe Jupe has honed its sound, and the end result is an enjoyable blend of the Strokes, Simple Minds and Duran Duran, with a slight hint of ‘70s prog. Reduction in Drag is a more even-keeled affair, with catchy and unique songs. Singer My Young practically seethes with Interpol-esque evil on “Piranha”, “Suspicion” has an almost Roxy Music feel to it, and album highlight, “Stalker”, pings and pongs across an Atari soundscape with devious intent. There’s the odd misstep, such as the music box fragility of five-minute long ballad “The Fire Curtain”, which seems to be a bit out of place on an album chock full of fairly upbeat party anthems, but it isn’t an egregious backfire. “El Topo” is interesting in that it combines futuristic surf pop with foreign female vocal samples (are they Spanish or are they Japanese? – I can’t tell), but the effect is somewhat middling. Generally, things have a tendency to fall apart at the very end of the record. Did we really need a six-minute dance floor instrumental in the form of “The Raincoats of Cherbourg” to close out the disc? Still, doesn’t diminish the fact that this release is a lot stronger and more cohesive.

As with Invaders, the band isn’t really reinventing the wheel here, but it has gone much further in developing something that is more of an overall identity, which forces the band to slightly rise above its collective inspirations. Reduction in Drag is a much more enjoyable listen front to back than the album that preceded it. At the rate that Jupe Jupe is progressing, crafting music into something skin-tight and sleek, its next album – will it come out next year? – might be one for the ages. - Popmatters

Note: This review originally appeared in the Illinois Entertainer.

Countless bands these days look back to the 1980s for inspiration, but Jupe Jupe distinguishes itself by focusing on the darker and more brooding side of New Wave. Think of Ultravox or Talk Talk, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what this Seattle-based quartet is up to on its third full-length release, Crooked Kisses. Most of these tracks stretch beyond the five-minute mark, which gives listeners plenty of time to delve into the atmospheric arrangements and ominous lyrics about everything from small-minded townspeople to cosmic disaster.

On “Autumn October” and “Love To Watch You Fall,” lead singer My Young’s vocals resonate above a lush mix of his keyboards playing and the energetic guitars of Bryan Manzo and Patrick Partington. Drummer Jarrod Arbini anchors the bottom-heavy rhythms of “Darkness,” and Jupe Jupe opts for a straight up rock approach (albeit with synthesizers) on the social satire of “Vicariously.” “Whispers Kill” comes a bit too close to being overly precious, but Jupe Jupe expertly combines bitterness with an irresistible melody on Crooked Kisses’ first single, “Pieces Of You.” - Broken Hearted Toy/The Illinois Entertainer

It’s still Day 1 (technically) of SXSW Muzak, but so far my favorite discovery has been Seattle’s Jupe Jupe, a dark-lit synthpop quartet that pulls from the usual 80s romo-wave suspects but still manages to have something fresh to offer. Only I go to sxsw and find a German-influenced electronic band that’s as far from hipster as humanly possible. They got shoulders swaying in a bar on the outskirts of Austin Rock City that reminded me of the Double Deuce from Road House. RIP Patrick Swayze 4ever _Mm - The Boston Phoenix—Blog

Jupe Jupe is like Billy Idol, if Billy Idol decided to venture into the dance-synth world. The quartet has been performing together since 2010, and its latest release, Reduction In Drag, is out November 1. Album track “Suspicion” is a slinky number that could fit easily into any nightclub around the country. The band’s sound is as much a throwback to older glam and analog times as it is a modern update for new listeners. Equal parts dark and danceable, Jupe Jupe is a band to watch. Download “Suspicion” and fellow Reduction In Drag track “Once Around The Sun” below. - Magnet Magazine

British new-wave heartbreak
Your tearful pint of Ben and Jerry’s has nothing on this album. This synthpop Seattle band makes mourning as upbeat as anyone can possibly manage. Most of the album stays pretty dark and lamenting, using synth and depressing Robert Smith-esque vocals to remind you that we all die alone (though notably, the album ends with a happier sounding “New Stars in the Sky.”) The combination of the two provides listeners with grooving waves of sound that bob along to the sound of souls dying. Bass drum and muted snare keep the percussion low-key, but with expertise rhythmic choices to assure no one gets lost in the flowing sea of vocals and synth, providing the highest form of pep to the album. The combination of driving drumset, haunting melodies, and sharp hooks make this album a good mellow soundtrack, but the lyrics hold forefront for the distress the album so accurately portrays. - WVAU.org

Jupe Jupe is made up My Young on vocals and synths, Bryan Manzo and Patrick Partington on guitars, and Jarrod Arbini on drums and percussion. The four members are veterans of the Seattle and Austin indie pop and prog scenes (Pleasurecraft, The Cinematics [U.S.], Maximum Coherence During Flying).

The band’s third release, Crooked Kisses, offers ten tracks about unrequited lust, love and heartache, influenced by British new wave, ’60s European spy films and lonely, ghost-town Americana. Teaming up once again with Martin Feveryear at Jupiter Studios (REM, Robert Fripp, Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse), Jupe Jupe spent nearly two years finessing a collection of hooks, melodies and choruses into a singular vision for Crooked Kisses.

Into melancholy electro-dance-rock? Jupe Jupe might be your new favorite band. - The Big Takeover

Jupe Jupe - Crooked Kisses (Independently released CD, Pop)
The third full-length release from the Seattle, Washington-based band Jupe Jupe. These folks have developed a good solid fan base by providing synthesizer-based modern pop reminiscent of 1980s bands like New Order. The band is comprised of My Young (vocals, synthesizers), Bryan Manzo (guitar), Patrick Partington (guitar), and Jarrod Arbini (drums, percussion). This band's sound is becoming more focused with the release of each album. Recorded by Martin Feveryear at Jupiter Studios, Crooked Kisses will probably be the album that pushes these folks' career to the next level. These ten tracks are memorable, melodic, danceable, and ultimately quite infectious overall. Our favorite cuts here are "Pieces Of You," "Never Ask Why," "Autumn October," "Darkness," and "New Stars In The Sky." - Baby Sue

They’re baaaaaaaaack! Seattle’s Jupe Jupe keeps going, unleashing their third album, Crooked Kisses, upon the world. And, here’s the thing, they keep getting better. The reason for this is that the confused notion of their first two releases—are they prog or are they new wave?—has vanished, and Jupe Jupe is now strictly a group that conjures visions of ‘80s synth-pop along the lines of New Order. Or, put more forwardly, the prog influences have more or less completely disappeared. That they don’t have songs on Crooked Kisses as good as New Order is perhaps a minor failing, but the band seems determined to deliver the goods this time out and has constructed an album that feels like an album, start to finish, rather than a collection of assorted songs. And there’s plenty here to be gradually won over by. If there’s one thing that’s a takeaway with this LP, it’s that Jupe Jupe are really trying this time out, which is not to slight their previous releases, but there’s a real sense of putting everything on the line and urgency here that the group hasn’t really established previously. “We want more than we’ve got,” goes a line on one song, which is just proof of this. Even more, this album of 10 songs runs about 50 minutes, and there isn’t one bad song in the bunch.

On Crooked Kisses, singer My Young’s voice is full of drama and twisted despair, and the rest of the band provides muscle to the music. Whether it’s the jittery “Pieces of You” or (possibly the album’s best track) the atonal keyboards of “Never Ask Why” or the heavenly Pet Shop Boys soundalike “New Stars in the Sky”, there’s a great deal of focused musicianship on display. Crooked Kisses is an album that could easily be slipped into a club mix, but it’s also one for fans for retro bands like The Strokes. The whole package seems complete this time out, and that’s a cause for celebration for those who may have backed off Jupe Jupe for not knowing where they wanted to go with their sound. “We’ll get ours yet” is a line from “New Stars in the Sky” and there’s the impression that this might just be the relative commercial breakthrough that the band so brazenly craves here. If there’s anything that this album proves, it’s that the next time that Jupe Jupe come back around, their career trajectory is now such that they might just deliver a real contender for Album of the Year. - Popmatters

I’ve been waiting for a solid, moody glam-pop album pretty much since the hoopla for the Killers’ Hot Fuss died down. And while Brandon Flowers’ 2010 solo effort, Flamingo, came close, it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. Thankfully, the newest release from this Seattle quartet helps to fill that niche. Composed of My Young on vocals and synthesizer, Bryan Manzo and Patrick Partington on guitar, and drummer Jarrod Arbini, Jupe Jupe’s previous two releases, Invaders and Reduction in Drag, garnered the band attention for sleek, layered soundscapes and dissections of pop culture. With swells of haunting synthesizers, spooky vocals, craggy guitars, and thundering electronic beats, Kisses picks up where those left off. In truth, this version of Jupe Jupe proves to be a mix of the Killers and the Kaiser Chiefs (circa We Are The Angry Mob) even if Young’s vocals don’t match the standout tones of either of those acts. Yet Young’s melancholic drawl paired with a stunning mix of glam and goth results in a unique take on electro-pop that’s equally tragic and danceable. The band also channels British new-age classics on the latter half of the album, specifically in the Cure-esque delivery of tracks like “Hollow” and “New Stars in the Sky.” But it’s standouts “Love to Watch You Fall” and “All The Things We Made” that keep the 10-track collection interesting. It’s in their glittery, pulsing arrangements that Crooked Kisses’ themes of love, lust, and heartache fully breathe. - The Seattle Weekly

A million years ago cloaked in the ambition of former lives we accidentally caught a Jupe Jupe live performance down in Austin during South-By-Southest. The memory, hazy by design and fuzzy by alcohol, stands out in a sea of bands that week of that particular year (2012?), simply because our assumption of their home base was off by, oh, roughly 4,600 miles.

We thought Manchester, they confirmed Seattle.

It’s easy to get that mixed up. The new wave quartet are kindred spirits of that beloved Manchester sound, and settle into another classic alternative groove on their latest single “Faith In What You Hear.” The track, which you can hear below, is off Jupe Jupe’s latest album, Lonely Creatures, which serves as another impeccable mix of gloomy sounds and indie dance floor empowerment.

Jupe Jupe are at their best when they are showing an impassioned restraint, and that’s evident here as “Faith in What You Hear” glides along a path of seductive synths and slashing guitarwork. The warmth is familiar, but the sound is entirely their own.

“’Faith in What You Hear’ is about the possible unseen danger of blind trust,” the band tells Pure Grain Audio. “Sometimes the words we think we want to hear can turn out to be as hurtful as what we tried to avoid. Musically we wanted to lay this melancholy on a pulsing dance feel, going for an electropop/post-punk sound. We’ve always enjoyed music and vocals that are a bit mismatched in that way.”

Listen to “Faith in What You Hear” below, and hold out hope that eventually Jupe Jupe will meet us halfway between Seattle and Manchester for that long-awaited Boston gig. - Vanyaland