Microchip evil: Jam and the Benzos & Cutouts reviewed

Cutouts – zeke

Genre: Post-Punk, Psychedelic Rock, Indie Rock

The future’s written in 0 and 1s. We have computers assisting us with everything, especially when it comes to providing entertainment. Furthermore, there doesn’t seem to be any way back from this. Not that most people would sacrifice this level of comfort and constant stimulation for promises of a freer existence. 

The consistent interference of modern technology in every aspect of our daily lives has, naturally, created a certain amount of dread. People talk about all-encompassing algorithms minutely deciding every aspect of their existence. Folks fear the government using tech to spy on them. Some even fear that these inventions have estranged them from their true path. 

It’s only fitting that modern pop music would reflect these worries. Cutouts’ single zeke is the sound of modern psychedelia. It’s not colourful and elastic like the kind of sounds that 1960s bands might have come up with. No, it’s darkness marked by blinking lights. It’s tense and even the dance moves can only be executed if carefully coordinated. This is the sound of coming to terms with modern dread. 

Jam and the Benzos – Terrible Man

Genre: Electro Funk, Pop Punk

“I dig that goddamn rock n roll/ That kinda stuff that don’t save souls“. That’s what Lux Interior, singer of The Cramps, and all-around rock n’ roll villain sang back in 1990. The tales of youngsters losing their moral compass, or worse, because of the lure of rock music is just as powerful, albeit the fascination with it has returned underground, where it likely belonged. 

No matter how you slice it, this is not an art form designed for good people looking to walk straight and narrow. And, if you think that things have got worse, reconsider. Just read the biography of any of the first great rock n’ rollers, and you’ll find fascinating folks with tremendous moral weaknesses. Johnny Cash, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis. These aren’t the folks you’d want around your family at a weekend barbecue. 

Jam and the Benzos‘Terrible Man embraces the destiny of the rocking bad guy with wit and humour. In fact, the track is so invested in depicting the singer as a misanthrope looking to infect all those around them, that not a whole amount of consideration is given to the music. This, however, works in the favor of the clunky post-punk of music. It sounds like the work of someone that lives down a darkened alley, and never leaves their home during daylight hours.