Allied (1993)
I've said it a few times over the years, but J Church is on of those bands that I didn't appreciate enough when they were still active. I had a bunch of split 7"s with their songs on them, typically from buying the record due to the other band. I had the Camels, Spilled Caronas... picture disc (which I sold or traded away at some point over the years) and I even went to go see them play at The Pipeline in Newark once. I've said all of this before, but it's only been in recent years that I've really given J Church a real chance. And predictably, I've tended to like just about everything.
Quetzalcoatl is the first J Church full length. While I probably don't like it quite as much as I like Arbor Vitae, it's a really strong record packed full of big hooks and sing along choruses. It's pop punk, but it's pop punk that's more rooted in a punk place than some of the more popular goofy stuff that had the spotlight shone on it so brightly in the mid 90s. I feel like J Church has way more in common with early Snuff or Leatherface than they do with some of their US contemporaries like Green Day or Mr. T Experience.
But yeah, long story short is that I totally messed up and should have bought their records back then instead of waiting until nearly thirty years later. I'm going to try to grab their full lengths and probably the singles comps at some point, but I don't think I'll ever dive into their 7"s too much. That insane singles discography is one of the reasons I found buying their records to be somewhat intimidating back in the 90s.
Well, at least you go to see them. Sadly, I didn't, but I was quite an adherent. Was extremely bummed to hear when Lance Hahn (frontman) passed away. From what I'd heard he was fairly gregarious, and I think he would've had a ball on social media.
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