With a sense of violence and wit, California art rock quartet
Media Jeweler open their sophomore effort with the aptly titled "Complaint 1," a minute-long jab of rhythmic grievance that sets the tone for an altogether darker affair than their debut. Like 2015's
$99 R/T Hawaii,
1-800-SUCCEED takes its title from an urban billboard whose decidedly drab photo also graces its cover. Playing on the incongruity of motivational aspirations is part of what makes
Media Jeweler such an appealing force. A largely instrumental group based around the standard rock format of two guitars, bass, and drums, the Santa Ana band pair spiky post-punk riffs and oddball time shifts with subversive statements on commerce, marketing, and urban and emotional decay. While it might be a stretch to call their debut sunny, there was a layer of daft whimsy in its strange DNA. The bright SoCal sun shines like a ray of hope on its album cover, whereas
1-800-SUCCEED's image depicts a heavy overcast day at odds with its self-help ambitions. Similar in length and arrangement, and sporting the same clean and direct production from returning recordists
Seth Manchester and
Keith Souza, it's hard not to see it as
$99 R/T Hawaii's darker sibling. The monotone recitations of disparate phrases ("acrylic block," "black hole diptych," "yellow blood") on the angular "Colorblocking" are oddly thrilling as they land between the band's harsh punctuations and lumbering grooves. "Complaint 2" is more low-key and conversational than the first, while "Complaint 3" consists almost entirely of bitter static. "Ringtone" contains a lengthier vocal effort strung together like some epic suburban Dadaist poem. While not quite as wily or vibrant as
Media Jeweler's debut,
1-800-SUCCEED is every bit as interesting and challenging. ~ Timothy Monger
