Brooklyn-based collective Juice have released a new single, the sugar-coated and supremely poppy ‘Superimposed’.
I have absolutely no idea what to make of Juice. The nebulous group take a kitchen sink approach to music, incorporating genres like indie pop, hip hop, electronica and house, but the results tend to be hit or miss. Their 2018 EP Workin’ on Lovin’ is quite good, and its four songs bring in a fair amount of R&B and alternative rock to the fore. So far that’s been the only release from the band that has been worth a return visit.
“In the fall of 2020, we isolated ourselves in Killington, Vermont, where we worked on dozens of new song ideas for our upcoming project Boy Story,” band member Christian Rose explains. “One night towards the end of October, I stayed up all night in my bedroom demoing out an idea in Logic Pro. I had a chord progression, an obnoxious little synth line (which is still in the final version), and some cool lyrics about how complicated it can be to think about an ex.”
“It became an interesting alt-rock/synth-pop/hip-hop collage, and when I showed it to my bandmates the next day, we all decided the idea was worth pursuing,” he continues. “The guys injected their various talents and writing perspectives over the next several days, and ‘Superimposed’ was born.”
If you’re not careful, it’s easy to overdose on the kitschy sweetness of ‘Superimposed’. The age-old trick of pairing hyper glossy and happy sounding music on top of dower lyrics is employed here, but there’s no time to actually contextualise some of the introspective lines because the song’s music is incredibly bright and poppy sound. From the keyboard lines to the vocal performances, the song becomes the sonic equivalent of a toddler on an unstoppable sugar rush. And the kid isn’t even cute; it’s one of those annoying kids who thinks he’s funny but should really just shut the hell up.
This isn’t to say that Juice is a bad group, or that ‘Superimposed’ isn’t fully aware of its juxtapositions. It’s simply that it doesn’t work. Juice has some really solid songs in their discography, but those tunes are surrounded by mountains of ignorable material and fairly annoying filler. ‘Superimposed’ is worse than filler: it’s actively irritating. Here’s hoping they can get back on track with their next single.
Check out the video for ‘Superimposed’ down below.
