Jaill

That's How We Burn (Sub Pop)

By Erin Wolf
Published: August 6th, 2010 | 1:00pm

Lead by the sweet, twangy vocals of Vincent Kircher, Milwaukee quartet Jaill has racked up a solid following of friends and admirers in their hometown. Shows in basements and the occasional tour were the norm before Sub Pop turned their ears onto the catchy sensibilities the band had shaped in their eight years together. The shine of these years of hard work shows on their label debut, as That’s How We Burn sparkles with energy and tangible rawness yet doesn’t get ahead of itself. This is a recording that’s always in control and capably moves forward, mixing in the old (“Everyone’s Hip,” which appeared on an earlier EP) with the new (in opener “The Stroller,” the band chomps down on a more muscular style). The fluidity of the album makes it obvious the foursome have played together for quite some time, but there’s still a delightfully unpolished quality to it, making for a sincere musical atmosphere.

On first listen, scores of pop pros come to mind: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Albert Hammond, Jr., Avi Buffalo, and the Shins, and even the rawer set of Harlem, Strange Boys, Thomas Function, and the Goodnight Loving wiggle into Jaill’s music. Somewhere in the middle of all this, Jaill still claims their own clever rendition of the genre. They play off of Kircher’s nasally vocals with their appealing twee quality—bright, open guitars and a bit of country pedal steel glitz all tempered by Kircher’s droll and dry lyrics that keep the tunes fetchingly brassy. No “wimp pop” here. Jaill manages to brighten even the darkest corners of their most cerebral moments.

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Jaill official Web site

Jaill MySpace page

Sub Pop Records