Jupiter In Velvet’s seventh album is one of reflection, soul and grinding, heavy instrumentals. The tracks feel like different parts of popular rock history but on the darker side. The entire album has a very Billy Idol or post-Golden Age of Grotesque Marilyn Manson feels, along with the heavier side of pop-rock in the late ’90s or 2000s that will bring you back to that time. The dark, contemplative lyrics and heavy, distorted instrumentals come together just as darkly melodic as they did when these sounds dominated the radio waves during my childhood and teenage years.
The album starts out with Heavy Like a Brick, which feels like an evolution of the sound the popularized by Fu Manchu with heavily distorted instrumentals and hard-hitting drums. The track is mixed incredibly well and sounds very clean against the distortion effects which makes the overall sound of the instrumentals flow very well. The lyrics also hit hard, lines like “Self-pity is her superpower, through guilt she conquers you†is all you need to hear to understand the feel of the song as a whole. The Day I Fell from the Stars evokes a very 2000’s dark and melodic rock sound, like early Stone Sour to deliver a track of self-reflection and melancholy. Lyrics such as “Clock stares down on me, a brutal reminder of what I should be†are symbolic of his journey.
Though these tracks exist, the very fact the album moves the way it does and sounds so fresh rather than dated or re-hashed is a testament to Jupiter In Velvet’s experience and wide breadth of musical exposure. The album as whole feels familiar enough to be something that a rock fan growing up at the height of the Foo Fighters popularity could find in their old high school collection. The arrangement, wide variety of influences all united within the signature distorted and grungy sound of Beautiful New Day feels like the next step of the genre. Tracks like Spare Me evoke a pop-punk aesthetic in both feeling and theme, with lyrics such as “It’s both sides trading lies, pulling the wool over our eyes†are just the tip of the iceberg of the social commentary of the track.
Beautiful New Day is an album that shows off the chops of the artist behind it. Each track has its own unique feeling and personality, though never strays from the overall sound of Jupiter in Velvets newest venture. The wide variety of inspirations taken to create each track will make the fan of rock from the late ’80s to the mid-2000’s smile with delight as they relate to each track with a rock inspiration. To the modern listener or the more cynical listener growing up in the aforementioned rock generation, the feel and sound of the album may feel dated. Beautiful New Day is a great rock album and worth definitely worth a listen, especially if you are a fan of rock.
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