Jukebox the Ghost - Let Live and Let Ghosts

Piano-led indie pop – four words that are likely to have most people mumbling, if not moaning, about the likes of Coldplay or Keane or other, less successful, bands that have followed the template and fluttered about in their wake. However, it’s a tag that would be unfair to tarnish Jukebox The Ghost with. While they are a Philadelphia-based trio whose output is ivory-led and of the indie-pop variety, there is no self-important self-aggrandisement or moping here; instead, they’re purveyors of shiny and endlessly optimistic piano pop.

From opening track, the explanatory ‘Good Day’, a bouncing sing-a-long breeze of warmth and goodwill, the Ghost’s debut album Let Live and Let Ghosts (initially released in the US in 2008) is a smorgasbord of infectious, fun-filled and electric little tunes. Up-tempo and joyful, it’s a breezy riot that celebrates the simplicity of the three-minute pop song. In an era when pop is synonymous with Simon Cowell-reality show dross – identikit songs, usually covers at that, pushed off the production line populated by a cast of indistinguishables – it has become a genre to avoid, if not abhor. A genre that has dumped the notion of three-minute pop perfection for a magazine cover-friendly line-up of airbrushed empties. Jukebox the Ghost goes a long way to redressing the balance.

With a striding rhythm section laid down by drummer Jesse Kristin, pianist/vocalist Ben Thornewill and guitarist Tommy Siegel hold court with flair and invention, and with a hint of Freddie Mercury-eccentricity to the playful vocals and Brian May-influenced licks. ‘Good Day’, the current single, epitomises the album and band. Its self-explanatory title is heartfelt and rousing, never for a moment condescending or contrived (there’s not a hint of Daniel ‘had a Bad Day’ Powter here!). It’s a striving little ditty that bubbles over with enthusiasm, as do the other eleven tracks that follow, with the bounding ‘Lighting Myself On Fire’, ‘Static’ and the heartfelt love song ‘My Heart’s The Same’ being the ear-catching standouts. True, the album never veers to far from the guitar-piano model, but there is enough invention within it to ensure that each song provides its own identity, like the soundtrack to a musical that has not yet been written.

Intelligently scripted through Thornewill’s witty lyrics, Jukebox The Ghost is smart, sassy and quirky, but enjoyably so – not annoyingly. Exuberant and radio-friendly, they deserve to claim back ‘pop’ as a moniker to be proud of.

Let Live and Let Ghosts is released on March 15th on New Music Club.

By Alasdair Morton