Vagrant (1995)
"Racked" is the song that got me to give J Church another chance recently. Prior to hearing "Racked" it was the combination of an intimidating discography and having heard mediocre songs by them when I first became aware of the band that kept me from really pursuing any of their records. "Racked" was such a perfect song that it made me give them another try, and I'm quite glad I did. Arbor Vitae has become a frequently played LP and I'm starting down that dark path to pick up a few more of their records. While I don't think I'll ever have the courage to tackle their entire discography (it really is insane), I am going to search out the highlights.
I wasn't even planning to get the Racked 7" yet, but a friend of mine was purging it from his collection and I figured it would be a great addition to the jukebox project. Sadly that project is on hold, but at least I have a few new J Church songs. The way "Racked" combines the upbeat chorus, palm mutes and harmonics in the solo, it really is just an amazing two minutes. I would encourage everyone to start there if you aren't familiar with the band.
On the B side we have two more songs. The first is "Mary's Moving Out." This one is a smash hit as well. A blisteringly noisy guitar squall starts things off, giving way to a fast paced and dynamic verse. It's a really short song, but it's excellent. The last song on this 7" is "You Fucking Trick." This one isn't your standard J Church pop punk, it sounds more like one of those noisy, sludgy songs Fluf would sneak onto their albums. It's not awful, but it isn't for me. Still, just for the first two songs I'd recommend checking this out, especially if you've been looking for an easy entry point into the vast J Church discography.
J Church - "Racked":
J Church - "Mary's Moving Out":
J Church - "You Fucking Trick":
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