Reviews

"Their influences are very broad, making it difficult to pinpoint where the band is coming from..."

The quote above is taken from the Interpunk blurb designed to help sell The Junior Varsity's Cinematographic. Of course, it's followed by something along the lines of - this fact is what makes their latest effort exciting and wonderful and worth your $11, etc, etc. But this isolated phrase says so much more about this Springfield, IL, 5-piece.

On Cinematographic, The Junior Varsity brings together a ton of different influences, but fails to make something out of all of it. I've read the term scatterbrained used to describe the band in the past, and it still holds true in the disorganized arrangement of songs found on their latest effort. The influence of label mates Bayside seems evident in a number of songs, the distinct vocals of They Might Be Giants are nearly copied at points in "St. Louis," and a number of indie bands come up throughout the slew of other moody tracks on Cinematographic.

The problem is not that the band tries to incorporate so many sounds into their own; it's that they never really make the sounds their own. Each song just reminds the listener of another band that did it better first. On top of this, it never really adds up. There are catchy riffs, hooks, and assorted other moments of interesting songwriting, but nothing is every made from any of it. Everything gives off the impression of a band that is doing a lot, but may not be sure why they're doing any of it - just look at the artwork - and thus, the listener is left a bit confused. While there might be some talent underneath the surface, Cinematographic is far from a cohesive work, and worse, it's just not that entertaining.