Juiceboxxx – The Cosmic Clash
Juiceboxxx new LP on Infinity Cat/Thunder Zone OUT JULY 24th
In a world of musical compromises, Milwaukee journeyman Juiceboxxx stands alone. After countless singles, EPs and mixtapes, “I Don’t Wanna Go Into The Darkness” is his first official full-length, set for release July 24th as a co-venture between his own Thunder Zone label, JEFF The Brotherhood’s Infinity Cat and Gnar Tapes from Portland. American music re-imagined for a new era, “I Don’t Wanna Go Into The Darkness” is the most fully formed distillation of the Juiceboxxx vision to date. Somewhere between Def Jam and “Jack and Diane”, this is the sound of a lifetime of rap and classic rock radio, punk shows and raves.
Not since peak-era Beastie Boys has rap and rock made so much sense together, but on “Darkness” they are just two elements fully integrated into a complete sound. “I Don’t Wanna Go Into The Darkness” connects the dots between a continuum of American music running from soul and garage rock through rap, Miami bass and Chicago House. This is Mike Skinner if he were American, or Beck if he worshiped Springsteen instead of Dylan.
“Never Surrender Forever” sounds like Suicide gone Baltimore Club, all slapback reverb and pounding kicks. “Like A Renegade” is a classic road tale set to loud guitars and New Orleans bounce-influenced drums. On “21 On The 101”, Cheap Trick does battle with Primal Scream at an Acid House club. “Pump It” plays like the ultimate summer jam: a timeless story of dumb kids getting their teenage kicks set to breezy hip hop fully steeped in the Naughty By Nature tradition. Most surprising of all might Juiceboxxx’s first ever outright rock song, the unrelenting American motorik of “Expressway To The Darkness”.
Years of unhinged performances and high-impact touring crossing between rap, punk and dance circles have built up the legend and Juiceboxxx has the stories to prove it. How many people have toured with Public Enemy, Big Freedia AND noise weirdos? How many people play at glossy dance clubs one night and basement punk houses the next? Juiceboxxx does this because there is no other option: he is on a mission. “I Don’t Wanna Go Into The Darkness” is the ultimate dispatch from the front lines of the Thunder Zone. Never Surrender Forever.
