That's How We Burn by Jaill (ALBUM REVIEW)

Released in 2010 on Sub Pop.

Jaill is a 4 piece rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. they've been around since 2002, but this is only their first or second album.

My first impression of jail was one of boredom. The jaded asshole in me (which is most of me) thought this was just another quasi generic rock band with twangy guitars and songs about getting baked. It was just more inoffensive rock pabulum to throw on the pile.

But the more I listened to it, the more I got into it. All the notes I took slowly turned from mean dickish-ness into descriptive and endearing adjectives.

The music Jaill make is pretty straight forward, mid tempo, upbeat indie rock. Some say it sounds like surf rock, but it isn't surf rock. It's nowhere near as mindless and breezy as that. The songs on here have subtle complexity. The execution has that whole effortless feel you get from bands that have been playing the same songs for 10 years.

Twangy guitars, nasally vocals and very relaxed, slacker vibe permeate through the speakers. This album is all about trying to have a good time in a boring town.

If you like girls in black rimmed glasses, if you like flannel shirts, you might be able to dig these guys. For fans of Shins, Pavement, Mudhoney, Eels, Rolling Stones, Harlem, Mooney Suzuki and Famines.

3.5 / 5