EP REVIEW: Sign of the Times – Jet Fuel Chemistry

JET FUEL CHEMISTRY re-establishes themselves into this decade and beyond with their new EP Sign Of The Times, a call for calamity and reason in a year of dreadfulness. An optimistic nihilist’s dream, the five-track EP tackles these stressful and strenuous times with an outlook of hope, roping in some flaring hooks and pummelling riffs that bridges into the exciting new wave for modern metalcore.

This Irish quintet blurs the lines between alternative rock and metalcore, creating an interesting blend of the two in their contrast between soft, pop-like harmonies to pounding riff-centric breakdowns like in their track War. If you like anything by WHILE SHE SLEEPS, LOWER THAN ATLANTIS, I PREVAIL, then you’ll love this – especially the track Fever which gives major SO WHAT? by WHILE SHE SLEEPS kind of ‘the world is on fire and we’re all screwed’ vibes.

Writing, recording, and creating this whole EP from the confines of their bedroom during this quarantine really solidify them as an authentic DIY band. It does sort of give you that rough around the edges feeling but fear not, the cost of production is not lost in the value of the product. For a costless EP, it feels and sounds like something straight out of a bigger production house based on how up to scratch it is with the sound of modern metalcore. Typically a band’s earlier works are their stepping stones with more room for mistakes, but JET FUEL CHEMISTRY is already geared up to be the next big thing.

The overarching themes of Sign Of The Times mark as its greatest success. Across collection of songs JET FUEL CHEMISTRY courageously toy around with themes of what feels like a dystopian world but is actually the very real and damning reality of today’s social climate that we’re currently living through. Many of the tracks, if not all of them, speak to of the ongoing civil and political unrest, taking us through the emotional roller-coaster of discourse and dismay unfolding with a strong lyrical emphasis on uniting as one front to tackle these issues together.

We see this evidently through the title track Sign Of The Times that includes a sampling of a speech from global activist Greta Thunberg. Thunberg is highly regarded as a voice for the youth of today, including such a moving moment from her speech that helps to carry the message of the track and almost comes as a surprise from the previous two tracks. Down to every muscle and bone the detail and context are there, even in its name, this EP feels representative of the pivotal turning point we are undergoing without being ‘too preachy’ or making claims beyond their understanding. Whilst the lyrics hold immense depth, they don’t specify which particular political powers are upsetting them and therefore this EP can be a subjective point of the reason for everyone regardless of your political stance, you can still feel the dismay in this five-track release that resonates with the dismay and discourse in our world right now.

However, it can’t always be perfect. A criticism of this EP is that it’s too bittersweet and short-lived, there’s less room to experiment and push limitations as you would get with an album. Sign Of The Times does what it knows best, delivering similar riffs and nice melodies and that’s great, but it rarely steps outside of that. Fever and War are some of their shining tracks, they have a unique and smart technique of building anticipation and don’t fall short in delivering lively choruses – they get in, do the job, and get out. But Sleep and Use Your Eyes can easily wash over you as they fall into the trap of sounding repetitive, there’s nothing that hasn’t already been done in these tracks nor is there anything to really grapple you. It’s a good EP but in such a saturated market the bar is exceedingly high, as to stray away from what’s already being done.

Overall, JET FUEL CHEMISTRY‘s latest release bodies itself as a new-wave metalcore EP that isn’t afraid to blur the lines into commercial alternative rock without making it boring. It acts as a call to action from all sides of the divided country to come together in unity and fight inequalities as one acting body. It’s upfront, honesty but could and does deserve to be longer if it really wants to drive home its message.

Rating: 8/10

Sign Of The Times is set for release on August 7th via self-release. 

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