Bands are made up of regular people. As life progresses you mature as a people, or certainly that’s the idea. So naturally when younger a lot of bands play at their most erratic and then tend to "mature" as their career progresses. This is certainly the case with JR Ewing. Whether this is for better or worse is for the listener to decide.
I was put on to JR Ewing a few years as a band that would challenge my listening ala Dillenger Escape Plan & Converge. If you have not any of the bands work since the earlier part of the 21 st Century then you'd be forgiven for not thinking this was the same band.
This is certainly a slow burner of an album. The first 3/4 tracks show the growing up of a band going from their old "screamo hardcore" roots to a now more refined "post-hardcore" sound. With the high pitched screams and jaunty guitars of these opening tracks you'd be forgiven for screaming "at the drive-in" at this lot. Not so with so much more to its angular timings and indie rock guitar feel it would be a crime to pigeon hole this band that easily.
As the album progresses we hit songs more akin to the old sound. If this is what you're after simply skip to such tracks as "Fucking Champagne" or "Insect Intercourse". These showcase that old energy which is simply lacking in the earlier stages of this effort.
Basically if offbeat timings, yelpy off kilter vocals and post-hardcore are your bag of tricks then this will suit you nicely. However if coming back for more of the old school feelings of JR Ewing you may not like what you hear. From me this gets the thumbs up but from many a "true" hardcore fan this may get the drinks coaster treatment.
 
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