{"id":7328,"date":"2014-07-17T12:01:59","date_gmt":"2014-07-17T16:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/home\/?p=7328"},"modified":"2014-07-24T09:41:44","modified_gmt":"2014-07-24T13:41:44","slug":"the-great-unknown-what-to-expect-next-from-jukebox-the-ghost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/the-great-unknown-what-to-expect-next-from-jukebox-the-ghost\/","title":{"rendered":"‘The Great Unknown’: What to Expect Next from Jukebox the Ghost"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JTG\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Self-described piano pop group Jukebox the Ghost recently released a new single, \u201cThe Great Unknown<\/a>,\u201d in preparation for the release of their fourth full-length album this summer.\u00a0 The album name has not yet been announced, but it\u2019s sure to hold all the magic that has catapulted JTB to fame since the release of their debut album \u201cLet Live and Let Ghosts\u201d in 2008.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Great Unknown\u201d has a cohesive theme and singular message that each lyric supports- a marked change from earlier work that may whimsically cover several different courses of content in a single track. On writing the song, lead singer and keyboardist Ben Thornewill remarks that he \u201cdidn\u2019t mean to write a song with a message,\u201d but he\u2019s \u201cglad it\u2019s working out that way.\u201d The sound and subject matter are more down-to-earth than the rest of the band\u2019s material, but Thornewill\u2019s recognizable vocal talent brings an energy to the piece that is as yet unmatched in today\u2019s mainstream pop music.<\/p>\n

The singer remained vague in regards to details about the band\u2019s forthcoming album; he would only concede that it contains \u201csome powerful songs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more of the same I guess, but we\u2019ve matured a little bit,\u201d he tells fans.<\/p>\n

JTG dabbles in a new wave style of pop that often features ragtime-style piano as a main component of the instrumental make-up. Thornewill himself was trained in classical piano as a child, and the instrument seems to mean quite a bit to him; he thinks any music that incorporates noticeable piano sounds should be classified as a certain type of piano music.<\/p>\n

Contradicting himself however, he says \u201cin truth, it doesn\u2019t matter\u201d what genre an artist\u2019s music is as long as they stay honest and passionate about their work. Thornewill and bandmates Tommy Siegel and Jesse Kristin are \u201cthree different people from different backgrounds with different physical tastes,\u201d which creates a type of music that defies concrete classification.<\/p>\n

“Bands don\u2019t make sense, it\u2019s insane,\u201d he says laughingly, but somehow the trio of long-time friends manages to get along.<\/p>\n

He finds it difficult to pinpoint artists that have influenced the music he makes and the lyrics he writes: \u201cthat really goes on a song-by-song basis,\u201d he says, \u201cthere\u2019s not some great stylistic agenda.\u201d If the band were to completely start over however, he thinks they all would try to find more cohesive perspective on the sounds they create.<\/p>\n

Overall, there are three different sides to JTG\u2019s musical style, each shining brightly in its own way on different albums and in different songs. \u201cThe Great Unknown\u201d is a perfect example of a track that finds energy in rapid rhythms from Thornewill\u2019s piano and Kristin\u2019s drum set. Indie-alt influences arise in tracks like \u201cGood Day\u201d on Let Live and Let Ghosts with heavier electric guitar riffs and similarly in \u201cOh, Emily\u201d from latest album Safe Travels that features more traditional drum cycles. Jukebox the Ghost\u2019s sophomore album, Everything Under the Sun, shows the band\u2019s mellow side at times; the vocals and instrumentals of \u201cNobody\u201d and \u201cSummer Sun\u201d are low-key and basic compared to the feverish sounds and melodies of tracks like \u201cAdulthood,\u201d a popular song off of Safe Travels.<\/p>\n

The most important aspect of their music however, according to Thornewill, is its relatability. \u201cI think we are attempting to be as honest and real and genuine as possible,\u201d he says modestly, \u201cit\u2019s what makes a good song.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Candace Carter is an associate editor at Gadfly Online and really loves her job. She’s a student at the University of Virginia, even though she got a C in Algebra in eighth grade. Hobbies include doing the dishes and drinking bubble tea.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Self-described piano pop group Jukebox the Ghost recently released a new single, \u201cThe Great Unknown,\u201d in preparation for the release of their fourth full-length album this summer.\u00a0 The album name has not yet been announced, but it\u2019s sure to hold all the magic that has catapulted JTB to fame since the release of their debut […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":205,"featured_media":7372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[221,4,213,217,220,212],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7328"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/205"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7328"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7328\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7494,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7328\/revisions\/7494"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}