Wow. Jayler's first single, Acid Rain, live in 2024, official video 2022 + gig review from a veteran journalist calling

[highplainsdem]

them "the best new band I have ever seen."

I should have had this in my first post about them, at https://www.democraticunderground.com/1034137383 . Didn't because I'd listened to just part of the official music video, the evening when I first ran across their music, when I was feeling so low nothing sounded good to me. When I noticed their videos again, I ignored that first song...till tonight, when I listened to a live performance I loved.

I'll link to the rave review of one of their live shows below these videos.


Live in Nottingham, May 2, 2024:

Official music video, uploaded to YouTube July 1, 2022:

Gig review of their show in London, May 10, 2024 (8 days after the gig shown in the first video above), from Hot Metal Mag, written by long-time journalist and reviewer Steve Mascord (see his bio at https://books.google.com/books/about/Touchstones.html?id=C-c2swEACAAJ&source=kp_author_description ).

https://hotmetalmag.com/gig-review-jayler-at-camden-underworld-london/

-snip-

What is Jayler? I’ll sum it up in five words: Greta Van Fleet but better. If allowed six, I’d add “much”.

It’s shocking to see how young they are when they come on stage. Three 18-year-olds and a 19-year-old. How we have become conditioned to greying men who brandish their egos as eagerly as they hide their paunches.

The songs, such as “Acid Rain”, “No Woman”, “When You Go” and “Love Maker”, are Zeppelinesque in the extreme. But they are much simpler, catchier and more direct than GVF (I am tempted to say ‘or even Zep’ … but I won’t) and delivered with an overwhelming crispness that just zaps you.

-snip-

And then there’s the reaction from a crowd of middle aged men and Kira Mac fans who’ve arrived early. It is spontaneous, shocked and overwhelming. At first there even seems to be a bit of bewilderment in the way the applause speeds up and evolves into cheering and hooting. Are these kids REALLY doing this? Filling the air around us with filthy guitar licks and devil-rousing vocal lines that have our body hair standing to attention?

-snip-

And his review ends with him saying, "Jayler are the best new band I have ever seen."

[ProfessorGAC]

1. The Demo Is Better

I'm surprised they left the harmonies out of that live version. They're providing an important texture to the tune.
Still a little loose live & the guitar player's stuff is a little awkward.
Still young, so he may get better.
The song is cool.

[highplainsdem]

2. Thanks!

Glad you liked this song, too!

I do prefer the live version - the lead vocal is stronger, and I didn't miss the backing vocals.

If that gig review is correct and the band members were only 18 and 19 then (a review from a bit later last year, linked to in my earlier thread, said they were all 19), they were only 16 and 17 when they recorded the demo. Their meeting as college students had thrown off my estimate of their age, since in the UK, college is for two years, for kids who are usually 16-18. https://usic.sheffield.ac.uk/blog/difference-between-university-and-colleges-in-uk

Really young to be so good.

The bass player when they recorded the demo was replaced by the current one in April of 2023.