Dischord (2024)
I was later to the J. Robbins party than most. I never listened to Jawbox in the 90s or Burning Airlines in the early 2000s. It was my wife who eventually showed me the error of my ways and put all of this incredible music in front of me. I've been trying to devour as much of it as possible since then and have been adding his various bands' records to our collection over the years.
Basilisk is the second J. Robbins solo record, following up on 2019's Un-Becoming. Chances are that if you've been following J. Robbins career and have enjoyed the various other bands he's been a part of (Jawbox, Burning Airlines, Channels, Office of Future Plans) there's probably a pretty good chance you will also like this new album of his.
Not that I have the most discerning ears in the world, but for my money these J. Robbins solo records are right up their with any of the other releases he's been a part of. It's the same sort of angular, but familiar guitar work that constantly sneaks incredible hooks into songs that don't seem like the sort to house that sort of thing.
There's keyboard and synth usage here and there, but it's so well done and isn't chasing any 80s pop throwback bullshit. They actually enhance the songs, rather than work as a gimmicky sound effect thrown in just for the sake of it. The vocals always have melodies that carry the songs and always seem to get lodged in my head after a few listens. Basilisk is such a satisfying listen. I think I appreciate J. Robbins much more now that I'm older and this is another record that sits right in the pocket of the sort of thing I want to listen to these days.
J. Robbins - Basilisk:
https://jrobbins.bandcamp.com/album/basilisk
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