Yesterday greeted me with my second terribly pleasant musical surprise of 2008. The first of course being the early digital release of Bloc Party's "Intimacy" (which I will comment on as soon as I am able to listen to the official, physical LP. What I will be discussing today is the possibly posthumous release of The Jealous Sound's "Got Friends EP."
I first encountered the emo-pop quartet when they opened for The Foo Fighters in 2003. Later, that year I bought their debut LP "Kill Them with Kindness" which remains one of my all time favorite albums. I was anxiously looking forward to the album that they said they were recording in 2004 on their website, but sadly it never came. Due to their lack of material and the fact that their site had not been updated since 2005 I resigned to the idea that The Jealous Sound was no more.
But earlier this year, a post on their myspace announced a new JS release. I was ecstatic. I counted down the days until it's iTunes release, purchased it at the strike of midnight, and listened to it right away. I was a little disappointed. Firstly because it is just a 5 song EP and w of the songs are remixes. Also because two of the non-remixed songs aren't that great. They're not that bad, I just expected that if the Jealous Sound took 5 years to release 3 new songs, they would be three really good songs. "Got Friends," I am happy to say met that mark. It's catchy, deep, emotional, engaging, and did I say catchy? Everything I love about the Jealous sound is in this song. Both remixes sound pretty cool too. And I must admit that all three songs consistently get the JS emo-pop groove (even with the disjointed verse to chorus transition in "Turning Around"). I just wish all the songs could be as infectious as the title track.
It seems that these three songs are all that the JS were able to record for the second record before calling it quits. I am very upset that I will never get to see them live again, and the one time I did, I didn't fully appreciate what I was experiencing. I hope that someday I will have the chance to see them again. It's all I think about right now. The closest thing I can compare it too is being heartbroken by a girl on whom I've been crushing madly. I know that one day I'll be able to get over her. I know it, but I just don't feel it. But all things considered, I am very glad that I can listen to "Got Friends." If you haven't heard The Jealous Sound I can't urge you enough to check them out. You don't know what you're missing.
