Localized Juliet Mission

Pulled along by an echo-drenched undercurrent of sound, the ethereal reverb of Juliet Mission’s debut EP reveals a band attuned to the importance of careful production. In a process that began a year ago with Bryan Feuchtinger at Uneven Studio, the five songs are meticulously captured with a vivid, glowing texture that is less a wall-of-sound and more the creation of a thick atmosphere. While there’s no hiding the band’s traditional rock setup—guitars, drums, bass, vocals, and occasional keyboards—the production value allows for cloaked melodies and sunken drum grooves to rise and fall from the mist, giving the short record a listenable endurance. The soaring lead guitar on “She Says,” shines brilliantly on the otherwise gloomy dirge, as the other instruments bleed together—and retain their individuality.

But the record’s sparkling sound takes Juliet Mission only so far. Employing a uniformly forlorn aesthetic—and an obvious nostalgia for ’80s pseudo-goth bands like Cocteau Twins or The Cure—the band hovers around walking-pace tempos and keeps its dynamic range relatively flat. Ultimately, this makes for an EP that feels more like a collection of pop singles than it does an album with arc and shape. “Cage” is an exception and is all the stronger for it, revving up the band’s pace just a few clicks into a driving beat, laying a solid foundation for Andre Lucero‘s memorable vocal melody. It will be interesting to see what Juliet Mission can do with a full-length album—the EP serves as a pleasant preamble, much more about a feel and aura than a stroke of compositional prowess. Grade: B