J Church stated life at the dawn of the modern pop-punk age, back in the early 90’s. As an ever changing three-piece the band mostly focused on expanding what had become know as the East Bay sound. The band evolved over the course of five albums to incorporate many musical elements, including country and pop. ‘Society is a Carnivorous Flower’ is the first album by J Church for six years, and is also their sixth in total. This release also marks the first full-length album for the band as a four-piece.
Upon first impressions, J Church appear to have a very basic pop-punk sound. In fact the first track, ‘Overconfident’ is very reminiscent of ‘Dude Ranch’ era Blink 182. It’s a good song, but it does sound dated. ‘Keep Smiling America’, however, picks the pace up a little and is a much stronger effort. ‘Styrofoam’ showcases the bands country leanings. It proves too be a slower song, but is both lyrically and musically solid. The one aspect of this band that really stands out is their social conscience, and this comes across in much of the album’s lyrics. A great example of this is ‘Austin’s Shitty Limits’.
If the first six tracks of ‘Society is a Carnivorous Flower’ are solid, it is the album’s seventh track that is the real showstopper. The title track is 15 minutes long. It is about the events of Paris 68 (the workers and students strike during which this song title was actually daubed as graffiti). It is a great piece of social commentary and it is also in part a tribute to the Subhumans epic ‘Cradle To The Grave’ – technically one song but split into more smaller, distinctive components. It certainly is a great accomplishment for the band.
In truth ‘Society is a Carnivorous Flower’ proves to be something of a mixed bag for J Church. On the surface it is basic, solid pop-punk fare. Underneath that façade though is something substantially deeper. This is well worth a listen.
Mark