Check Out: Weekend - "Jinx"

When I first listened to Weekend's debut album "Sports", recommended to me by cousin Kirk,  I was hooked. My ears hurt for the majority of time I listened to them but I refused to turn the music down. That is one requirement that comes with listening to Weekend; they must be listened to VERY LOUD in order to really receive the full experience they create on their albums. Which brings up another great point about Weekend in general; they create albums with their own individual atmospheres. "Sports" was a beautiful, fuzzy, dark world surrounded in saw like distortion, a strong bass, and vocals blended with perfect reverb.

Then there was their "Red" E.P.
"Red" was a solid little E.P. of five songs that conjured lighter moments on "Sports" but with faster tempos and clearer...well, everything! Vocals were clearer, guitars were cleaner but still bathed in their perfect dose of reverb, and drums were still loud and proud. "Red" also produced one of my all time favorite roadtrip songs with "The One You Want". However, looking back now; "Red" was a transitional album. The 80's pop influence was beginning to show. And on "Jinx", boy does it show.

"Jinx" is a dream-pop/rock album. And a pretty darn good one. They sound like a mature 80's pop band with influences of Tears for Fears, The Cure, and even New Order. While the album didn't quite leave me yearning to re-listen to it as much as "Sports" did; it did produce some killer singles. "Celebration, FL", probably my favorite song on the album, is a dreamy, synth-laden, wonderland of 80's pop. It's not that I didn't like the album, I actually still listen to it often, it just didn't feel as unique or consistent as "Sports". It is also their most accessible album. It's fun, it's loud... my ears hurt... I've been listening to them for the last half-hour. My ears need a break.