Joemca – Jum+Ka / 2006 One Stone / 5 Tracks / http://www.joemcamusic.com /
Joemca is someone that I was not familiar with before picking up this EP. The very Depeche Mode style to the vocals during the first track “Strangers†make it seem like Joemca is influenced tremendously by the New Romantic style. Unlike a number of the acts from that era, there seems to be a high amount of emotion present during the entirety of this EP. Even though the instrumentation is largely created by non-human things (like a synthesizer), the emotion of the vocals is mirrored perfectly in the resulting arrangements. “Strangers†may not be a track that will make it onto the rock radio charts, but it does perfectly in introducing fans to the allure of Joemca. What is more exciting about “Strangers†is the fact that there is variation present in the track that makes the first part qualitatively different than the second, despite both of the tracks having a high amount of commonality.
The use of multiple vocals to end the track puts a strong exclamation point on what is a tremendous introduction to Joemca. The rest of the tracks on this album give a little more to chew on, but the cohesion exhibited by tracks like “Dead Paradise†and “Ode to the Sea†make it seem likely that Joemca will be able to extend their sound to the entirety of an album and succeed in much of the same way as they do on “Jum+Kaâ€. The production is solid, the tracks are unique while still being heavily influenced by prior genres, and Joemca is able to go forth and do something that few people have heard. “Glass Eyes†may be primarily a filler track for this EP, but it shows that Joemca can continually shift and change, even during their off moments.
Top Track: Strangers
Rating: 6.0/10