‘…Nostalgic indie rock sensibilities collide with punk ferocity and post-punk wit to create a collection of tracks that bristle with exuberance, anger, and determination…’
Even in a modern world defined by instant gratification, the adage of good things coming to those who wait can still be proven to carry weight. Having formed back in 2019, Leicester’s Jools have certainly not rushed to release music. Four acclaimed singles would be released by the end of 2020, and the band would firmly establish themselves as a ferocious live at, but it would take four more years for the band to release any further music. 2024’s incredible double single ‘97%/FKA‘ would prove that the best was certainly yet to come from the six-piece, and this month, the band finally dropped their debut record, ‘Violent Delights‘.
With a certain degree of hype behind them, this record could very well have been a disappointment, yet what Jools manage to conjure up on their debut is anything but. Nostalgic indie rock sensibilities collide with punk ferocity and post-punk wit to create a collection of tracks that bristle with exuberance, anger, and determination, as the band fight back against a culture of oppression with a declaration of living by no one’s rules except your own. The result is a record that has moments of joy, heartbreak, and fury flowing perfectly into one another, giving you a time to dance and a time to fight back.
‘The Pleasures‘ is a driving introductory number, layering sparse keys and rich vocal harmonies atop of unrelenting percussion and scrappy riffs; the track ebbs and flows between moments of pensive beauty and moments of danceable thunder, perfectly setting the tone of the record. ‘Limerence‘ is a brilliantly bold ode to desperate adoration, with splendid vocal delivery, whilst ‘Cardinal‘ is guaranteed to get you moving, as the band seek to anger the close minded by living freely and truly to one’s own self.
‘Mother Monica‘ and ‘Guts‘ offer some ferocious heaviness to the tracklisting. The former features a screeching guitar riff that is effortlessly catchy, before vaulting into a fiery breakdown in the track’s climax. ‘Guts‘ leans in a slightly poppier direction, with catchy choruses that will easily have the listener singing along, before changing gears in the back half with a breakdown that vaults into a brooding, swaggering rhythmic switch-up. If ‘moshability’ can be quantified, then these two numbers will be off the charts.
‘Knee Injury‘ and ‘Dunoon‘ offer some of the more contemplative moments of the record, with the latter packing a thumping bass line that is coated in fuzzy distortion. ‘97%‘ makes a welcome feature to the tracklist, with its colossal choruses and ferocious, driving instrumental working perfectly to deliver upon the themes of femicide and sexual assault; the anger is ferocious and palpable, and the contrasting yet complimentary vocal deliveries of Kate Price and Mitch Gordon are perhaps at their very best here. This is not merely a great track, but an important one, not only remaining as impactful as it did upon first release, but fitting in perfectly to the scope and themes of the record.
Furthermore, the lyricism across the entirety of this record is often clever, often catchy, and always compelling. From the viciously lustful bars of ‘Limerence‘ (‘Adoration dripping, it sticks behind my eyes/Between my thighs/Don’t act surprised‘), to the wickedly rebellious lines of ‘Cardinal‘ (‘They think I’m timid/Oh I’m piss wet through with Boulash spirit/You might have the loudest bark/But a boy with bangs bites harder, livid‘), Jools consistently have a phenomenal pen game, backed up by vivid vocal delivery, ensuring that the listener does not simply listen to the songs, but feels them as well; the wit never gets in the way of the emotional weight.
All of the impressive musicianship and top notch lyrical work coalesces into the incredible closing track, ‘Violent Delights‘. A progressive behemoth of a track that extended to over six minutes in length, this title track acts as the perfect conclusion to the record musically and thematically, as Price delivers one of the finest vocal performances that can be found on a record by anybody this year. Dripping with an unbridled vengeance, incredible bars such as ‘The glint of my ribs, the shine of my spine/The hounds and the angels, wore their skin as mine‘ and ‘I’ll hunt in every lifetime/Maim your past and present, await you in the after/Both bestial and celestial/I’m feasting in the fell‘ land with incredible power, as Price declares that nobody is to have control over her mind, body and soul except herself. There is not doubt that this in contention for the best song of 2025.
All of this is to say that ‘Violent Delights‘ is a fantastically composed record that not only builds upon what Jools established all those years ago, but showcases a band that have been perfecting their craft behind the scenes, and kept their eyes wide open to the world around them. There is a righteous anger that is certain to speak to women and queer communities, but also a reminder that love for oneself is an act of rebellion that one should always engage in. Good things truly do come to those who wait.
RATING: 81/100 – Very Good
For Fans Of: VUKOVI, Panic Shack, Hungry, Squid, IDLES
Physical copies of the record are available to purchase here.
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