Hailing from Ohio, Jetty Bones have toured extensively with the likes of The Early November and Hot Mulligan and now they’re set to release their second EP ‘-‘ (hyphen) via Take This to Heart Records on 22 February.
Opening with the Tigers Jaw-indie pop of ‘Better’, the EP finds Kelc Galluzo celebrating being there for others and looking over the friendship and support that has got them through a number of tough situations. The electronica-tinged song opens with powerful words about how ‘A stone house with brick walls and good foundations should never fall but when you use dynamite for construction, you better prepare for the grand eruption’ before lthen looking back: ‘All I can see in retrospect are all the memories that I wish would have stayed repressed. It was easier to give sympathy when I was still denying that it happened to me’.
The entire EP has crystal clear production that adds clarity to Kelc’s words while the music effortlessly veers from Rilo Kiley-esque melodies to beats that wouldn’t be out of place on a Now, Now record. ‘Bringing It Up’ is full of vocal harmonies and stop-start guitars as Kelc talks about their ‘stupid brain’ as they rally against someone missing the point even when she tries to see a situation from their perspective: ‘Everybody says ignorance is bliss but I don’t think that applies to this’. ‘The Part’ follows this with in-your-face drums and a powerful plea: ‘I just need someone to talk to. I need a real conversation’. It shows how important transparent communication is, no matter how diffiult (‘This is the part of the process where you leave me behind. Why are you trying to get it over with? Fast forward, I’m still trying to rewind’. It then throws in spoken-word samples of a therapist (or mother?) reassuring you that ‘everything is fine’.
‘(jogging)’ has a more traditional emo sound with twinkling guitar and lyrics full of self-regret: ‘I’ve been trying so hard, I think that I’ve been trying too hard’; ‘I carried on so recklessly’. It’s a look back over past mistakes, that aren’t always of your own making and veers into more Everything Everything art pop territory in its final throws as Kelc reveals ‘All along I thought I knew but I had no idea where I was going at all so I was going and going and going and going and gone’. ‘To Know You’ is altogether more subtler with its piano-led sound and promises of being there when a loved one’s mind stops working. With bouncy guitar hooks, it ends in rousing style as Kelc encourages you to be a better person.
The closing ‘The Rest of Them’ combines punky guitar, dream pop atmospherics and melodic sensibilities – including some well-placed ‘babada’s’ to finish the EP. Six stunning songs about being a better person and how helping others can help you achieve this.
‘-‘ is out on 22 February via Take This to Heart Records.