Single Review: RUN0UT

The Bad Jelly Collective is made up of Bad Jelly Ben and a few buddies who weave creative forces in their Huia Road Home Studio, nicely tucked away in the Waitakere Ranges.

In the live setting, BJB “utilizes his arsenal of pedals, guitar amp & voice to create mood specific textures and colours. With a loop pedal layering song foundations & textures, he blends groove-based rhythm and smooth yet raw, bluesy lead playing.”

RUN0UT is a single off of Bad Jelly’s upcoming EP, WESTBOUND&DOWN.

Ben makes “finely tuned, reflective soundscapes – made fresh with dew from the Waitakere Ranges.”
RUN0OUT opens with a deep, throaty, bassline, bleeding micro slides that translate like a sexy, chocolaty vocal fry. Overlaid are sax sustains like in a film noir movie. Conjuring images of misty, despondent alleyways. The music swirls together like early-morning blurred vision as Jelly contemplates.

I love lyrics that take an uncommon word and make you associate that with a song for the rest of your life. in RUN0UT: ”Safe from harm/ I’ll do my best to wrap them up with Duraseal but I may” uses the consonance of the word Duraseal so effectively that I’ll never be able to look at book wrap again without thinking of this song.

There’s wonderful, subtle yet interesting variation between the first and second verses and choruses. Panning muted strings and accented syncopation add texture and dynamism to the moody atmosphere of the plodding bassline and filthy sax.

The lead break sweeps in like a flash flood of noise. It sounds like blue electricity in a cloud of black rain. It touches on a couple of emotional nerves but never quite stays long enough to let them oscillate. Then it whips away, leaving us on a whisper of “just like always.”

I’m looking forward to hearing what else is on WESTB0UND&DOWN and I recommend giving this single a listen. RUN0UT is available on Bandcamp for 4.20 dollars.