CREDITS
1
Writer:
Patricia De Oliveira
New Jersey vocal group Ju-Taun are returning with brand new single “Come Closer,” a mouth-watering preview off their
upcoming album. These guys have had a smooth ride thus far, taking it all in 2009, amongst the short list of select artists to watch, capping it off with a second studio album Love Changes Things that same year. And no wonder Ju-Taun is a
success; their beach wavy sound, which is poles apart from their pop and R&B debut, allays. The soft beat and cool vocals
confer this first single a reggae vibe, and the ambient lightness and affirmative message render the ensemble a feel-good
experience. Featuring a rock-steady tempo and smooth guitars, “Come Closer,” albeit against-type, is nonetheless a merry
mixture of poppy flavors, percussive action and clear-voiced optimism. Welcome nostalgia
envelops the track, making it more than a head-nodding soft serenade, a pervasive chill.
Ju-Taun began as a multi-cultural effort, a group of young aspiring artists who met
in high school, and fused their myriad influences, pushing barriers and breaking
out of their genres of predilection. Now a fully formed band, Ju-Taun and their
unprounouncable band name – their sound is just as undefinable – are back, and
bear in mind “Come Closer” is merely a foretaste, with specially concocted songs
packed with warmth and certain melancholy; their soulful background vocal harmonies have an emboldening effect. And with a bunch of new members helping,
they seem dead set on expanding their comfort zone to unknown lengths, mixing and whipping sounds into memorable melodies, giving ever more and pursuing their love of experimentalism, not the technical side of things, but the subtle
weaving of sonic feats. In the end, Ju-Taun is no hit maker, being decidedly on the
independent side of the fence, simmering songs, adding, subtracting, taking extra
care in what they produce, creating puzzles of stunning ease and grace.
NOW A FULLY
FORMED BAND,
JU-TAUN AND THEIR
UNPROUNOUNCABLE
BAND NAME – THEIR
SOUND IS JUST AS UNDEFINABLE – ARE BACK,
AND BEAR IN MIND “COME
CLOSER” IS MERELY A
FORETASTE.
11 – 24OURMUSIC