Jump Back Jake – Brooklyn Hustle/ Memphis Muscle
  1. Jump Back Jake
  2. Brooklyn Hustle/ Memphis Muscle
  3. Ardent Music
  4. myspace.com/jumpbackjake

Jump Back Jake – Brooklyn Hustle/ Memphis Muscle

Retro bands have always been cool, but also a bit of a novelty. The current wave of metal bands with a huge 80s influence may be fun for a time, but I doubt they’ll have any lasting value. When swing came back in the 90s, its popularity barely lasted a year. But then there’s a band like Jump Back Jake that does it in just such a way that has me saying, “This is really really good. If they make the right appearances, maybe people will actually grab a hold of them as something more than another little trend.” And the reason Jump Back Jake stands out is because they offer not just a rehashing of an old sound but a complex melding of a diverse range of sounds. In just one album, I can pick out elements of blues, ska, classic rock, gospel, country, 90s alternative, jazz, punk, Southern rock, and funk. If that hasn’t sufficiently confused you, keep reading.

Now the reason Jump Back Jake can get away with pulling together that range of influences comes in their ability to maintain a consistent sound. It’s big, soulful, and electric. It’s the energy of Led Zeppelin with the smoothness of Gnarles Barkley. Vocalist Jake Rabinbach’s deep singing voice and funky falsetto compliment the grooving bass and flaring guitars to create a tight sound that is only more enhanced by a horns section that could have come right out of 1997 (or 1957). However, while this album would have been quickly labeled ska back in that year, I would argue it lacks the crucial reggae up-strums to be true ska. If I had to pick a simplistic genre title to group Jump Back Jake under, I’d call them blues rock, but this is far from doing them justice. Some call it swamp-boogie based on its Southern flair, but there’s a lot more big city rock and roll on here than that name would suggest.

On songs like “Treasure,” I feel like I’ve stumbled onto the jazz station (or at least R&B), but then “Pay Out on the Front End” makes me think I’m listening to a rock song from the early 1960s. The thick bass and guitar riffs of “Terrible Mistakes” or “Won’t Leave the House” are sure to get you moving on the dance floor, while the slow and heart-felt “Say a Prayer” will make you throw your lighter up in the air in that classic rock kind of way, with an organ and prominent guitar work guiding a strong but emotional voice through a fumbling relationship.

To my knowledge, there’s really nothing like this out there right now, which could be just as risky as it is innovative in today’s music industry. The sound of Brooklyn Hustle/ Memphis Muscle matches its name perfectly, and the combination of powerful old sounds with a modern approach is both surprising and challenging. With ballsy music and personal lyrics, this is what full-on rock and roll was meant to sound like.