A take of the new album, written by Andrew Steck
Ok, so it’s not as if they just came back to us from out of nowhere after their 2016 release, Come With the Mountains to Us, Vol. 1 & 2, but the new album is their first long-play album since 2016. [Reminder here to check out the JTFH singles that are streaming that have come out in the last couple years.] After listening to Howling at the Wrong Moon, you will hear that the time since has not been spent twiddling thumbs. There is an impeccable attention to detail throughout the recording that sounds as if years were spent carefully crafting every moment. As someone who has been in touch with JTFH mastermind, Jeff Fox, during the recording process, I can vouch that it does indeed sound this way for a reason.
While Jeff may be better known – to those that know – for his songwriting, clever lyrics, and intriguing perspective, this album takes those qualities and pairs them up with a home studio mastery that creates a tapestry of unique arrangements, a vast array of timbre and sonic voices, and all kinds of ear candy in general. “Sounds like a cluttered mess,” one might imagine from such a description. The wild thing about it is that it strikes a delicate balance throughout the album that could have easily been tipped in one way or the other at any point. While there are myriad genre and style influences throughout the album as well, we still get a well-balanced album from start to finish. No cluttered messes and no outlier tracks! What is this a late night infomercial making outrageous claims about a new space-aged cleaning product that sounds too good to be true? Well, it is true, and frankly, it is almost too good. Speaking of advertisements….
I now offer you the opportunity to purchase a CD copy of Howling at the Wrong Moon! Not only does it contain the aforementioned 43 minutes of everything you’d want in a new rock album, but it also features incredible album art brought to us by our late brother, Terry Johnson. (While I worked shoulder to shoulder with Terry for years in a kitchen, Jeff and Terry’s lifelong bond was an example of the strongest sort of chosen family. He is and will be very missed.)
The CD will be available here in the Shop, on the Bandcamp page for Jumping Through Fiery Hoops, as well as Wuxtry Records in downtown Athens. Please consider purchasing the CD, or if that doesn’t work for you, you can download the album on Bandcamp, Apple Music, Amazon, or any streaming service that you can download on. You can also just listen to heart’s content on these formats as well. You will not regret taking the time to do so.
As always, don’t forget that a free and easy way to support your artist friends is to follow them on social media, like/save/add their content to playlists, and share it with your friends both online and in person. we are so grateful for all forms of support.
