So I've been spending some time in Milwaukee and there's this underground legend I keep hearing about. Juiceboxxx is his name. A grocery cashier mentioned him in reverence, and then I heard a couple more folks praising him when they saw Punknews' very own Alex aka hesitationstation with his merch. Digging deeper, I found he swims in and out of various styles of music -- rap, punk and noise -- which got me super interested, especially when I heard his record was called Freaked Out American Loser. And fuck, he's worth the hype.
The first track that caught me was "Freaking Out". I heard it months ago and knew that I needed to get into this record. Let me correct that, I needed to make time for it because of a fucked-up schedule. I really wanted to devote the right amount of time to him because it felt like a straight up Beastie Boys tribute and as a huge fan of them, I really found his delivery and isolated scratch-mix-table style to be kindred in spirit. It threw me back to "3MC's and One DJ" and then I heard another jam from him. It's very "Sabotage"-esque and it's called "Lifers and Losers". So here I thought this was gonna be his schtick -- which isn't a bad thing at all. But after diving in, jeez, I found so many other dimensions to his game.
"No Good Way To Grow Up" and "Destruction and Redemption" are badass garage punk jams, and then there's the the self-titled track which rings like Weezer went more indie than punk. Then you've got "Guts and Tension" and "Brutalizing" which feel like a mix of all of the above. Almost every single song has a poppy rap vibe to it, catchy no matter the sound-bed and really sticks for hours on ya. What's most fitting is that he's not just about rebellious Milwaukee stories but about youth revolting in general. He also waxes on about that descent into the 30's as well (relatable to me) and after finding out a bit more about him, everyone says he's paid his dues and deserves success. Well, if Freaked Out American Loser doesn't get him it, I don't know what will. This is a powerful statement that's just as much fun as it is serious and for sure now I've made the time to explore his entire catalog.