Jolt - Punk Jungle Rules
The page of those rock family trees with Jolt on it makes for curious reading. Senseless Things splits into two: Morgan Nicholls forms Vent 414 with The Wonderstuff’s Miles Hunt (Nicholls then left them last month), while Mark Keds forms Jolt with B B Mets of Mambo Taxi (I haven’t heard of them either). History aside, it’s time to talk about Jolt’s latest appetite wetting offering. And there’s one problem with the 6 track/18 minute long Punk Jungle Rules, it’s just way too short by half.
There’s a peculiar mixture of influences that makes up Jolt’s sound and which makes them addictive listening. Trying your best not to wince, take bis’s older brother and sister playing amphetamine loaded Terrorvision guitars, and maybe just a sprinkling of the now prehistoric sounding grunge, and you’re almost there.
There’s the frenzied Certain Death Estate which represents Jolt’s attempt at the eponymous crossover, taking on the racing tempo of a jungle beat. They’re not quite there yet, but they’re at least offering a different way to take on this mixture than the laid back patented grooves of the Sneaker Pimps. Was it Wild is their ‘slowy’ and clocks in at an ‘epic’ 4:42, and everything distorted, is standard issue. They sound their most bis-esque in Fruit Machine, but thankfully B B’s squeal is not quite as annoying as Manda Rin’s. And if a bit of melody, plain old singing, and perhaps single material is called for Son of a Gangster steps in to provide great a pogo-popping tune.
If this is a starter, I look forward to the main course. So taking those two fellas quantity and quality into account, this one gets (7).
Sa