Jaill

There's No Sky (Oh My My) [cassette] (2009)

Brian Shultz

There's No Sky (Oh My My) is a quaintly packaged full-length cassette release from recent Sub Pop signees Jaill--though at the time of this release, they were still known as the properly spelled Jail. Gonna state the obvious here and guess there was another Jail, so they changed their name in the interim to avoid some legal tribulations.

Jaill are doing their best to craft the perfect three-minute garage pop song, and while none of the 13 tracks on There's No Sky quite meet that aim, the band's doing an admirable job trying. "Beggar Sincere" rides muffled, broken-amp riffs with a spate of Midwest charm and twang that's never overbearing or overblown.

Granted, that twang is occasionally turned up and gone southern. There's the slower, weeping lo-fi "Stuffed"; if there's a ballad on the record, this is probably it. But its systematic handclaps and patient country guitar atmosphere sets an interesting tone for it and a consequential early break for the record. "Out of Your Boots" is another easier romp, with a '60s folk vibe about it too.

"The Biggest Nugget of Them All" may be a not-so-thinly veiled reference to a certain drug or another, but it's got this cool, almost joyous tone about it and some more spacey guitar effects to boot. It's like the most tasteful, lightly psychedelic layer possible, really.

There's a handful of lulls and lesser compelling moments on this album, but you got to imagine they've worked out the kinks and made a more solidly interesting effort for their next full-length--That's How We Burn--coming out in July.

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Beggar Sincere
Always Wrong
Stuffed
The Biggest Nugget of Them All
All It Was