One Track Mind

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Like a pair of mad scientists trolling through a junkyard in search of components for their latest invention, Jogger forges their songs with a wily resourcefulness that yields surprising results. By cobbling together bits of melodies and scraps of instrumentation, the duo sculpts a schizophrenic, sometimes discordant soundscape where pieces defy logic by somehow working together harmoniously. At times, Jogger evokes memories of Beta Band or Captain Beefheart–acts who never shied away from the challenge of assimilating a panoply of textures and moods into a coherent whole–although the band is equally informed by the electronic Renaissance of recent years as championed by artists such as Ratatat.

On October 27th, Jogger will make their debut with the This Great Pressure LP, a collection of ten tracks from which “In America” is culled. The song’s opening moments are an ocean of calm, with the pair trading acoustic guitar notes and vocal harmonies like Kings of Convenience’s hipped-up take on Simon and Garfunkel. Before long, however, the serene scene is invaded by a synthesizer riff and drum machine beat, at which point Jogger’s mesmerizing multiple personality disorder announces itself. Going forward, the song is a battleground where melody and dissonance are engaged in a serious bit of tug of war. Instruments take turns relenting to one another: at one moment, sweetly sung vocals stand their ground; the next, electric guitars push everyone else aside.

In many respects, “In America” is a refutation of the chipper three-minute pop song, but the truth is that Jogger don’t seem to have any especially subversive desires. They clearly value music’s sonorous qualities but also enjoy standing conventions on their head. While “In America” isn’t intended to be background music, it is an engaging trip helmed by a couple of capable artists.