Let Jukebox’s Ghosts brighten your day

Let…Let Live and Let Ghosts Jukebox the Ghost Rocks like: The Strokes, Ben Folds

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Delightful. Optimistic. Both are words that describe Jukebox the Ghost’s Let Live and Let Ghosts. The band has been selling advance copies of this album since Jan. 26, but on Tuesday, its first full-length album hits stores nationally.

The piano-pop trio, composed of Ben Thornewill (piano/vocals), Tommy Siegel (guitar/vocals) and Jesse Kristin (drums), met and formed Jukebox the Ghost at George Washington University, where they gained local recognition around campus before touring outside of the Washington, DC area.

Since graduating last year, the band has been busy touring and has performed with artists such as Ben Kweller, Regina Spektor, Kanye West and Tokyo Police Club.

Jukebox’s infectious album features upbeat melodies, lyrics that are far from generic and Ben Folds-esque piano, perfect for anyone who needs a little lift.

At first listen, it feels sort of predictable in an indie-pop way, but the quirky lyrics with more substance than most pop songs set this band apart.

The band explores not just the regular love and breakup topics so common in pop songs, but also makes allusions to religion, war and other themes that can be left to your interpretation.

The album opens with a song titled “Good Day” which sets an appropriate tone for the rest of the album.

This upbeat song about a fictional street where everyone can just be young and have fun will have you bopping along all day, and not in a pathetic teeny bopper way, either.

Track two, titled “Hold It In,” is one of the best songs on the album. Exploring the pros and cons of holding emotions back, Thornewill sings over a very catchy beat, “I was told that I’m a man and I’m not allowed to cry / only thing I can do is hold it in,” and “There is a couple with a baby and it’s no secret why / neither one was able to hold it in.”

“Beady Eyes on the Horizon” most closely resembles a Ben Folds song and is easily the most lyrically interesting track, telling a story about a homeless man, UFOs, soldiers, and of course a pair of beady eyes.

Despite the foreboding lyrics, musically, this song is just as entertaining and pleasing to the ear as the rest of the album’s tracks.

The trio does get a little moody on “Miss Templeton’s 7000th Dream” and “Static.” Eerie, ghost-like crooning resonates in the background as the band explores the topic of war with some pretty intense lyrics for a seemingly happy-go-lucky bunch.

The album ends on an optimistic, youthful note with “A Matter of Time,” a song about life in general with lively lines about lighting the earth up like a birthday cake.

However, it’s a little bittersweet with a realistic but playful reminder that the thrill of life eventually fades: “Keep on eating to keep on sh*tting / and time will wear you down.”

The band probably could have done without a few of the slower tracks, but it doesn’t affect the album as a whole, and shows that the band has range. It will be interesting to see how Jukebox grows musically over time.

Overall, Let Live and Let Ghosts is definitely worth a listen for the unexpected quirky lyrics and lively energetic music. Honestly, this band even makes the line, “I wish you were dead, babe / I wish you were dead,” sound happy.

And if you discover that you like this piano-driven trio, Jukebox the Ghost will be on the road this summer making stops in New Jersey, Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore and DC.