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Mush

by Jacky Boy

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    'Mush' on classic black vinyl.

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      $19.99 USD or more 

     

  • T-Shirt/Shirt + Digital Album

    New Jacky Boy shirt with praying mantis design! Full color screenprint on a Gildan tee via our good friends at In Case of Emergency Press in Bloomington, IN. Grab one now.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Mush via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Pool Blue Vinyl
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Limited-edition Pool Blue vinyl pressing of 'Mush'. Only 200 copies!

    Includes unlimited streaming of Mush via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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1.
Live It Up 03:29
Guess I’m learning how to crawl From a deep and dirty maw Made a home for all the dross End of the lease is coming up Give me the way to fall along Give me some love to carry on So I can let it all be gone Out in the world where I belong It’s hard to live it up When it’s never good enough It’s hard to live it up There’s gotta be some room for love Got too busy sizing up It’s scary here above But I see everyone Give me the way to fall along Give me some love to carry on So I can let it all be gone Out in the world where I belong It’s hard to live it up When it’s never good enough It’s hard to live it up
2.
Get Me Out 02:35
Bothered with the way that I’m living Dismissive of the things that I care about Makes me want to pull my head apart Always the first thing you’re saying Any time I’m coming around Do I live in your world? You think I’m worried if it looks right to you? I packed my life up to the ceiling Left it behind and shed the feeling Never wanted your way of living Busy with the shit I don’t care about You can’t fathom life not settled down I’ll keep doing what makes me happy Won’t give it up for anyone else I’ll stay broke and free I don’t care if it looks wrong to you I packed my life up to the ceiling Left it behind and shed the feeling I was dying for something To get me out I packed my life up to the ceiling Left it behind to shed the feeling I’m here to stay and it would take The whole place burning to the ground To get me out
3.
Say you’re right And all the words will come Say you’re right Like you’re the only one The only one to say That I was ever wrong The only one to sway me off The flow I was on Say you’re right Just like you’re ever on Say you’re right Til everybody’s gone The only one to say That I was ever wrong The only one to sway me off The flow I was on
4.
Good Enough 03:20
Been around a hundred times Something with the state I’m in I go down and back again I’d give it up a thousand times I feel like I can lose myself Falling into somewhere else I don’t know When you say It’s good enough I used to wonder what it’s like Bitter over my dull life Make it up just to get by And now I feel it every night Every drag gets me high I feel lucky every time You say It’s good enough You wait It’s good enough
5.
Sun 03:19
Break me up Straight in two Never far to be around Caught enough Over you I won't let it slow me down Never letting it fall out of my heart Keep me spinning on Caught up in your sun Set me off Get me blue I can’t keep on hanging around Never letting it fall out of my heart Keep me spinning on Caught up in your sun Never letting it fall out of my heart Keep me spinning on Caught up in your sun
6.
Feel It Now 02:49
It’s coming true But I can’t make it out Can you feel it now? Your voice cuts through And I can’t figure out Why it’s so loud Throwing me off to the side I can’t see through And it’s bumming me out But I feel it now You’re shining all over me And you won’t stop Until I believe it Throwing me off to the side I don’t know Throwing me off to the side Guess I forgot Throwing me off to the side I don’t know Throwing me off to the side
7.
Mush 02:22
I was a shell My room was dark as all hell I saw my myself Guess I saw everyone else Spill into my mind Holding up the light Into the night Holding up the light I slurred my speech Smoked out on the red porch seat Stared at my teeth Til I saw everything Spill into my mind Holding up the light Into the night Holding up the light
8.
Overdraft 04:05
Sullen Stuck in a bitter lie Stolen from the light Calling Lose it to the sky Caught in the ceiling tonight Today won’t take Still I’m awake Fallen Out of the simple life I’m getting sick of the ride Honest Never be true to mine Too scared to ever ask you why Today won’t take Still I’m awake Hang what you said Over my head Stalling You waited too long Truth is I’m gone
9.
You were right Taste it through the phone line Tear me up New life Faded in the sunlight Waste my time You can’t see it Looking away And falling apart If you mean it Why don’t you come And fill out the dark

about

Hey, what’s up. You heard of Jacky Boy?

They’re this band from Indiana, and I like em a lot. They put out a record a few years ago that is really good (2017's 'On Good Terms With Everyone You Know'). Kind of vulnerable, but not-too-emo, catchy as hell, fun-and-feeling Midwest rock songs. Anyway, they made a new record called 'Mush', and it is great!

I got to hear it early, which is pretty cool, but I also got to sit down with Steve Marino, who writes the songs, and talk with him about it for a while. I really like this album. Compared to the first one, the hooks are bigger and the sounds are more decisive, but it also feels like a sharp creative progression. Like, where those older songs were often about specific relationships, frustrations, and taking stock of experiences to form a rigid notion of whatever-the-hell was happening in life, 'Mush' is instead filled with gratitude. Steve told me that when he was writing the songs, he intentionally tried to focus on these feelings of gratitude and freedom that have been coming up around him. He said he wanted to make the songs express that thankful feeling, but also for them to be and to make the feeling. Artistically, I think that’s a real cool move. Like, letting the songs fulfill and provide this sense of freedom, instead of just pointing to it or describing it.

That celebration of freedom and satisfaction is hidden in these tunes in more ways than one. Lyrically, there are references to escaping the frustrations of a dull routine, expectation, and bad habits coded and scattered throughout the album, but none as clear as on the second track, “Get Me Out”; I packed my life up to the ceiling / Left it behind / And shed the feeling / I was dying for something / to get me out. This entire album is built on top of an unambiguous sense of relief. Relief from immaturity, relief to grow, relief to be happy, relief to be free because it makes you happy, these are the recurring themes of the album, and also exactly how it feels when you listen to it.

Steve is sort of at a disadvantage, though, because he has to put his ideas into words. Hard to do! But, there’s also a palpable sense of freedom in the music itself. With the addition of Zac Canale’s waning-Gen X/Millennial Rising MTV-College-Rock guitar fluency, Jacky Boy’s previous nods to 1990’s slackerdom are injected with a new genuine authenticity and exploration. And Mark Edlin’s emotive, confident drumming betrays his youth without a noticeable care in the world. But the cares are in there. They’re just sitting comfortably next to a vision of 'The Way Out'. In that regard, the slack here is real. This isn’t throwback music. Lugging your amp into your friend’s basement to share a few laughs and cold beers while you build a world of songs for fun is the Way Out, and for these dudes it’s the real deal. The songs are a tribute to the lifestyle, and not the other way around.

Oh, and there was one more thing that Steve told me about 'Mush'. Like, humming the tunes in the shower until the best-fitting sounds revealed themselves as the correct lyrics, he said he built these songs out of abstract ideas and flow and that explaining it all doesn’t really get to the point. And I agree. I’m happy to lend some context to who Jacky Boy is, but this record is strong and cathartic and speaks for itself. The songs are catchy and fond, the vibration is easy, and the feeling is real.

- Mike Adams (of Mike Adams at His Honest Weight)

credits

released April 29, 2022

Jacky Boy

Mark Edlin: Drums & Percussion
Zac Canale: Guitar
Steve Marino: Guitar & Vocals

Credits

Damion Schiralli: Bass
Stone Irr: Backing Vocals
Diederik van Wassenaer: Strings on “If You Mean It”

Engineering: Mike Bridavsky, Tiana Jimenez-Srisook & Damion Schiralli
Assistant Engineer: Joe Caldwell
Recorded at Russian Recording in Bloomington, IN
Mixing: Mike Bridavsky
Mastering: Matthew Barnhartat (Chicago Mastering)
Photography: Anna Powell Denton
Cover Photo: Zac Canale
Design & Layout: Nick Faidley

Thank you: Jack Andrews, Kyle Houpt,Andy Beargie and Blockhouse Studios,Aaron Denton, Jeannette Lehr, Mike Adams, Harry Wagner & Ellie Hasken

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Jacky Boy Bloomington, Indiana

Zac, Mark, Steve ;)

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