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Jookabox
“Dead Zone Boys”
Asthmatic Kitty
*** (of 4)
“Dead Zone Boys” opens with an ominous swirl of ambient noise; dissonant, almost moaning. The characters introduced by Indianapolis east-sider David “Moose” Adamson are no less foreboding: Dead zone boys, desperate phantoms and zombies. This is Adamson’s version of “Night of the Living Dead” and Jookabox’s percussive sound is a perfect fit for exploring the nature of evil. “Dead zone boys wish to take your life away,” he sings on opener “Phantom Don’t Go,” and throughout the album, Jookabox’s absurdist sense of humor balances out the darkness. As “Phantom Don’t Go” fades out, its doppeglanger, “Don’t Go Phantom,” rises up, its chorus sung in the pitched-up style Jookabox have used intermittently since its debut album. “You had me do the things I knew in my heart were wrong,” Adamson sings. Chipmunk vocals appear again on “You Cried Me” and “Glyphin’ Out” — both more traditional rock numbers — but they aren’t Adamson’s only trick. He gets downright soulful on “East Side Bangs/East Side Fade,” then goes the other way, deepening his vocals on closer “FITF #1,” an acronym for faith in the —let’s say — fornication. Jookabox dropped “Grampall” from the front of its name for “Dead Zone Boys,” but its singular combination of folk rock, junkyard percussion and samples have made it one of Indy’s best bands. Jookabox perform at The Vogue in Indianapolis tonight.
— Reviewed by staff writer Justin Schneider, The Herald Bulletin
