Juvenile Jury Anxiously Gaze Inward on Grungy, ’90s-infused New Single “Third Eye”
The best ’90s music was about looking inward, for better or for worse, with a somewhat critical eye, and Montreal-based alt-rock band Juvenile Jury captured that anxious, itchy introspection in their new yet very vintage-sounding single “Third Eye” from their new EP Proven Guilty.
With grungy guitars, loud-quiet dynamics, and subtle harmonies, “Third Eye” takes some of the most recognizable, intoxicating elements of ’90s grunge and alternative and reimagines it all for a contemporary audience.
“Stop pretending
It’s getting under my skin
It’s getting under my skin
Lately, I’ve been
Searching for my missing eye in the desert of my mind”
There’s a pervasive feeling throughout the song of judging oneself before others can judge and, ultimately, of feeling unknown. “Do you really think that I’m always cheering for life/ It may just be a disguise,” the narrator challenges. And yet the depressive outlook is juxtaposed with soaring melodies, hard-hitting beats, and, overall, the demand to be heard.
“Third Eye” is one of six songs on the band’s new EP Proven Guilty, which is the result of countless hours of practice, sweat, and tears.
“It was very important that this EP felt and sounded as authentic as possible,” the band said.
And so they at first set out to record and produce the project themselves, until they ran into problems capturing the drum sound and began enlisting the help of experts, including Montreal producer/engineer Peter Van Uytfanck, mixer Pete Hutchings, and mastering engineer Joe LaPorta.
“All of that left the EP sounding as big as ever, and for the rest of our lives we are going to be able to listen to something that we made and that is just magical,” the band said. “Hopefully, people like it as much as we do.”
Listen to “Third Eye” below, and learn more about Juvenile Jury via our mini-interview.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
Sure. We are Juvenile Jury, a three-piece rock band from Montreal, Canada. Mark Turcotte is the lead singer and bass player, Jordann Daoust is the drummer, and I (Sacha) am the lead guitarist.
What’s it like being a musician in Montreal?
Honestly, it’s pretty great. Montreal has an amazing music scene for independent artists to showcase their music. Plus, everybody from bands to industry professionals gets to know each other at one point or another, so it makes for amazing connections and support. I’d say our favourite thing about being a musician in Montreal is that people are so open-minded. We’ve literally played after an acoustic singer/songwriter, and people, we’re totally up for it. We love it here. Even though all that is true, we can’t wait to travel to other cities or countries as well!
How did the band find each other, and what’s the songwriting collaboration look like for the group?
We met each other in high school. I (Sacha) was in the same class as Mark one year, and we bonded over music and bands pretty quickly. Actually, people in our class could confirm this because we always used to sing riffs and bang on our desks to some Nirvana or Led Zeppelin. At the time, I was also jamming with now ex-bass player Antoine and we told Mark to join in. Immediately, it clicked with him. It was great. Soon after, we were looking for a new drummer, and Antoine told us about this kid named Jordann. We tried him and knew after one song of him banging on the drums that he needed to be in the band. The rest is history, as they say.
In terms of songwriting, the process is ALWAYS different. I’d say that most of the time, I come up with a guitar riff or song idea, and everything spurs from there. If we’re headed in a good direction, the next thing that ends up happening is Mark finding a vocal melody. While that’s all happening Jordann starts to try some drum beats, and usually, when everybody stops and looks at each other in awe, we know we are holding on to something. Other times, it’s Jordann that comes up with an inspiring groove, and we just start jamming, and it slowly turns into a song. We’re very hard on ourselves when it comes to writing a song. We try very hard to come up with stuff that hasn’t been done or that sounds like us. If an idea doesn’t feel right or doesn’t come to us at the moment, it usually ends up getting laughed at or getting completely ignored.
Who was the first artist to knock you out?
Hmm. That’s a hard one. I’d say that Led Zeppelin is a big one for me personally. For the band, all stuff 90’s related. Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Mudhoney, Smashing Pumpkins… There are so many. It’s insane. More recently, I’d say Queens of the Stone Age is a massive one.
What’s the one album by a Canadian artist that everyone should have in their collection?
Gosh. Well… It is pretty recent, but there is a band from Ontario called Cleopatrick. If you haven’t heard of them, you should go check them out. They put out an album called “Bummer” last year. It is fantastic.
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