On paper I should love Jade Dust – big revolution summer vibes; a definite Sarah Kirschcore thing going on – but for whatever reason they haven’t entirely properly clicked with me until now. While ‘Grey Skies’ presents a lot of the same elements – raggedy melodies, tightly-wound guitar parts, an urgent, everything’s-on-fucking-fire! sense of energy – the songs here hit me harder while also suggesting a band who are starting to branch out a bit more.
The first few tracks barrel past in enjoyable fashion, recalling Embrace (particularly in the smeared, straining-to-make-it work vocals), the first Soul Side LP and Fuel playing through Q-Factor’s gear. If you like mid-to-late 80s Dischord, then it’s all on the money – particularly since they also lob in an Ignition cover.
Penultimate song ‘Awe Of Myth’, though, is where I really sat up and started paying attention. It’s slower, more winding, and features some really effective piano. The band hold on to their raw, writhing spirit while managing to funnel it somewhere unexpected – much like Truth Cult did with their second LP. This song effectively anchored the whole release for me, luring me back as a standalone while also encouraging me to spin the whole thing over and over in order to track down other connecting threads.
The 12″ closes on an Articles Of Faith cover. Interestingly, this one’s somewhat twisted out of shape – as opposed to their version of ‘Anger Means’, which was a relatively faithful take. While the changes initially felt a little jarring, I’m hoping this move is aligned with the path they took on ‘Awe Of Myth’ – a desire to move forward and experiment with their punk while never forgetting how much they love all those Dischord, Sammich and Peterbilt classics.