Justice of the Unicorns second album, “Angels with Uzis”, the Brooklyn, NY based bands first release in two years, presents a modern, psychedelic approach similar to artists like MGMT, who stem from the same neighborhood. The album’s strange yet, intriguing songs that drift between topics of tigers, dragons, dinosaurs and the trailer park king.
Released under the independent label, Little Lamb Recordings, JOCs open the album with a unique track, set to the sounds of angels blasting machine guns as they plunge from the sky, the incidentally titled, “The Angels Descend”, sets up the listener for an unbelievably bizarre, musical trek.
“Malibu Is High End”, the second song on the album, creates a quiet, full-length introduction for what really shines on the country fried, jungle like, “Wild Tiger.” The vocals on “The Dragon Claw”, resemble a higher pitched Tom Waits as the song sequence into a breakdown that pulls listeners into another dimension while an eerie voice lurks in, resembling that of the Vincent Prince laden intro to Michael Jackson’s, Thriller, putting the listening in a dream like state. “McCarren Pool” and “Sleeping Late in the Summer Time” account for the only two, upbeat electric guitar songs on the album. “McCarren Pool” is 3:06 of Rock ‘n’ Roll, JOC style, which might show up on your play list while setting the course for a late night, weekend bike ride home. Rocking in their own free world, JOC, creates a Neal Young enthused track on, “Sleeping Late in the Summer.” Working its way through a progressive interlude followed by vocals that echo towards Young in his “Freedom” days.
“Pterodactyl Sun”, which begins with a light guitar introduction strikes similarities that sound similar to early White Stripes. The track is comprised of a solo guitar and heavy drums mixed in with anthems from a synthesizer. As the instruments provide a down, up, down down up rhythm, the vocals come through the speakers sounding like a scratchy whisper, making for an interesting eleventh track.
Fading out the CD is, “Mascara”, a heavy acoustic song about a one-night stand and making bad decisions when under the influence of alcohol and being left with only running mascara. The lyrics change focus into midgets dying from exploding volcanoes in the past, truly a weird topic base. JOC breaks out the organ and synthesizer for the closing track, “The Angels Ascend”, to present an ecclesiastical outro, where the sounds of cherubs and laughing rise upwards to the heavens, leaving the listener in total confusion as to what ones ears just went through for the past 33 minutes of the album.
For a relaxing album that can be enjoyed without skipping tracks or if you’re looking for some sweet songs to use for those upcoming snowboard edits, “Angels With Uzis”, is the ticket to an original soundtrack that will definitely keep the ears pleased. The CD is available online for download through both, iTunes and Amazon for under ten dollars. Looking for some extra dirt on Justice of the Unicorns? Visit justiceoftheunicorns.com and Myspace.com/justiceoftheunicron.