Good Jeans is Derek January, an ambient, synth driven musician from right here in the Steel City. His debut EP, Amusement, dropped at the end of the last year and has already garnished support from the local scene. The collection combines dark and dreamy synth tracks with poppy, percussive driven synth tracks. It’s a synth album. This is not a knock, January stays within certain boundaries while exploring the interior and creatively working with what he finds.
That being said, Amusement tends to get a little redundant. The opening and closing tracks, “Feeling Something,” and “Seagrave” respectively rely a little too heavily on 2 and 4 bar changes which lends to a strong sense of predictability and thus disinterest. (Although “Seagrave” is an awesome name and I humbly request Derek’s blessing to use it as a band name should I ever get one together.) Their are some gems on the EP, though.
“Be Quiet” opens with a drum track and synth chime that a Janet Jackson song seems inevitable, but keys kick in and it becomes an original and catchy pop song.
“Flutter” is perhaps the most interesting song on Amusement. It slowly fades into a bending drone and the when the vocals kick in it begins to sound like Trent Reznor is covering the Beatle’s “Blue Jay Way” from Magical Mystery Tour. But “Flutter” comes off more of an homage than something identifiable. It’s only a little over two minutes long, though and could have benefited from another line of vocals.
“Haze” seems like an intermission at a minute and a half and not much goes on in the song instrumentally. But this is what gives it its charm, its simple, and the panning is excellent. It’s very meditative with a sparse yet interesting soundscape.
As a complete package Amusement is good. It’s certainly worth downloading (http://goodjeans.bandcamp.com) and sharing with your synth-loving friends.