The Jeunes, featuring front man James Hall, broke up in 2005 after three years and one EP. So what is the story about "Strangers in the Night" surfacing now in 2009?
First, a little background. James Hall was featured here last year in our review of his current power pop band, Shake Some Action!. Prior to Shake Some Action!, James was heavily invested in The Jeunes, a project that produced much more than the four tunes heard on their EP release. James has revisited these "lost" unreleased recordings and meticulously got them in shape to see the light of day on "Strangers in the Night".
"Strangers in the Night" does not sound like a hodgepodge or lazy effort by a self-indulgent songwriter eager to get loose ends of his songs tied up. If I had not known better, I would have taken this record to be a proper and professional full-length release. So hats off to James for a job well done in revitalizing these tunes. Like Shake Some Action!, The Jeunes have a distinct Hoodoo Gurus sound mostly due to Hall's vocal styling and tone. Unlike Shake Some Action!, music by The Jeunes is less sunny and poppy. The darker and moodier edge actually suits Hall's vocals really well in my opinion. Opening track, "High 5" sounds like it drifts right in off a stormy sea, and there are some other surf rock elements to be found here (e.g. "Missing Person"). The raw and grittier side comes out strong on garage rock tracks like "Obvious", "Contradiction" and "What You Do To Me" (not a Teenage Fanclub cover). The pop rock side is evident on the excellent "Time Is On My Side" (not a Rolling Stones cover) as well as "See You Again" and "It's Alright" (not a Candlebox cover). The CD contains a bonus track version of "Never Be The Same" mixed by Jyoti Mishra (White Town) - this one will probably be just for fans of White Town.
The Jeunes will appeal to fans of Hoodoo Gurus (especially during their "Blue Cave" period), The Cure, and The Stone Roses.
iPOD-worthy: 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 10, 11
The Jeunes on MySpace. Official site.
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