Myspace Musical Discovery Of The Month - J Minus From Seattle

Myspace Musical Discovery Of The Month - J Minus From Seattle
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Shon]Jennifer Shon

Hailing from Seattle, J Minus is the band everyone has been waiting for to break through the barriers of the same old sound by giving clever lyrical prowess and just the right balance of oomph to mellow in their grooves. The band consists of five members -- Dylan Fant (founder, drums), Trevor Wheetman (vocal, keys), Chris Mongillo (vocal, guitar), Matt Gamboa (guitar), and Myer Harrell (bass). Their first release, the dual disc Sun & Moon, came out in 2006 and they have been touring it in their local area, to a very strong following, ever since. With clear roots in pop, rock and jazz, each song on the two disc set is an independent experience that leaves the listener wanting more of their intoxicating sound.

The music on Moon has a jazz driven, otherworldly quality as if the listener was swirling around in the starry galaxy. Pair that music with Wheetman's melodic and entrancing vocal and this album is as smooth as glass. When Fant was asked if he sings out loud when alone in his car he responded "Depends. If I'm working on a song and I have the music with me in the car, then there's a good chance". It is clear from the clever lyrics this is a formula that works -- most notably from Everything We Need ("So wonderful and untouchable she got you locked in her own gravitational pull"). Another standout track is After Midnight. The harmonizing is perfect and the catchy chorus is sung in an almost vulnerable voice which adds greatly to the ethereal vibe.

Take a little sandpaper to the edges, slightly etch the glass of Moon and out comes Sun --the album to jam to. It is more guitar and drum driven in a rock vein, a slight musical departure from Moon, but the melancholy dream-like lyrical feeling is quite the same. An excellent example of this is Run Around, a song about standing on the edge of a precipice ready to jump off but not being able to make it happen. The beat is a perfect blend of alternative-pop-rock with tambourine and electric guitar punctuating the song, giving a harder edge to Wheetman's level vocal.

As a band, these guys are just plain fun and it shows in their openness to meeting new people and generally spreading their smooth grooves across your ear waves. The real test of a true artist is in how they remain creative and even Fant admits that sometimes it is required to write music that does not relate to any one situation present in his own life "When you're not really going through experiences yourself, it's always good to try a little storytelling." The story told by Sun & Moon is as enjoyable as a journey into a dream.

This listenable package is available for purchase on their website at http://www.jminus.com or on iTunes.

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