Avant-garde punk for a party that gets out of hand.
Next year Jad Fair will be 70 and his band Half Japanese will be 50 years old, which is pretty crazy because the boss and his crew sound like kids on studio album number 21 as well. There are moments on JUMP INTO LOVE when Jad Fair and his people play music for a party that goes completely out of control. Sort of like hiring The Fall as the wedding band in Four Weddings and a Funeral.
On one song, Jad Fair emphasizes “This Isn’t Funny” with his whining voice – his band plays stoic rock without harmony. Shortly thereafter, the absolutely fantastic song “Step Inside” sounds like The Damned and Mercury Rev had arranged to meet for a dark wave party in the magic forest. Like so many of this band’s records, JUMP INTO LOVE sits right on the border between avant-garde, pop and punk, which means that Half Japanese is just as popular with godlike fiddlers like Fred Frith or the harmonious Teenage Fanclub as it was with Kurt Cobain.