Jupe Jupe: “Reduction in Drag”

Seattle-based music gets dark…but in a good way.If you think “Dance Music For The Depressed” is a descriptor that could never be used, you haven’t heard of Jupe Jupe. A quartet out of Seattle, Jupe Jupe intends to keep your head nodding with hooks that move you on both a physical and emotional level. The album has a prevailing dark and brooding tone, with lyrics commenting on everything from typical band thoroughfare (breakups/girls in general) to reflections on religion. The darkness can approach unbearable levels at time, track seven, “The Fire Curtain” being a good example, which is basically a five minute long lullaby that seems to come straight out of the “Nightmare Before Christmas” universe. This song finds its counterpart in the similarly orchestral, but less dark, final track “The Raincoats of Cherbourg.” This six-minute instrumental provides a break from the gloom of the previous songs and allows you to ingest what you’ve been hearing over the past half hour.