Jupiter Affect

The Jupiter Affect truly lives up to the definition of the term "rock & roll band." On one hand, it's a guitar-driven project (Jason Shapiro and Dan Epstein are your culprits here), and indeed, one of the finest twin-guitar groups in the pop field playing in Los Angeles today. It's also led by vocalist/bass guitarist/songwriter Michael Quercio, the former guiding light of such popular aggregations as the Salvation Army, the Three O'clock and Permanent Green Light. Both of these elements meet and create a rock & roll attitude that's infectious - they do it together, as a band, and that's the most obvious factor of this party. The music itself is pop scraping against metal scraping against psychedelia; Sell Out-era Who comes to mind as a reference point. The songs themselves are a mixed lot, and are not necessarily the stars of the show here -- aside from "Angela Davis Hair," which sports one of Quercio's finest melodies ever. One of the songs' secret ingredients is a lovely Mellotron-esque keyboard courtesy of guest Phil Parlapiano. "#17 Dream" sports the same effect, along with a delicious (and tastefully short) backwards guitar solo. It's a fine debut, and a lot of fun. ~ Matthew Greenwald