I’m not usually a mushy kind of guy, and when I am I pretend that I’m not out of a need to overcompensate for my lack of masculinity. That being said, the North Irish Indie band “The Jepettos” hits all the right notes when it comes to emotionally endearing oneself to the listener. Formed in 2011, The Jepettos immediately set themselves apart in society by choosing to spell the name Geppetto with a “J” and only one “P” for some reason. But don’t be turned off by their dangerous mindset to topple standard spelling. This band is worth checking out.
Already regular contributors to PPcorn, their newest single “Even Though” was featured on the soundtrack of the Irish short film “An Actor Prepares”. This may be the reason that lead singers Ruth and Michael Aicken sing this number with an Irish accent thicker than a thousand pounds of sheep wool. Their accents can definitely be heard in other songs but it’s here that they come out in their full brogue-ish glory. The result is a music video that perfectly encapsulates the small town love story “An Actor Prepares” is trying to convey. That, and the video contains funny clips from the movie that you’ll just have to watch to find out.
Another strong contribution is “What You Said”, an experiment of time dilation and image manipulation that will trick you into thinking your video player is broken. The filmmakers have a lot of fun flipping and spinning the beautiful landscape of both rural and urban North Ireland. There’s also Goldrush, which started life as a free download before quickly gaining popularity and blooming into one of their most loved songs. It also resulted in a music video far different than any of their others, with a child actress getting more exposure in it than the band themselves.
The success of Goldrush allowed them to release another single a year after in the emotional “Chemicals”. And here we get to a bit of a tearjerker and my personal favorite song of theirs. Two lovers sing about their hypothetical plan should one of them die before the other (i.e. where to meet, how to contain their envy of the living, how to playfully haunt mansions when they get bored etc.) While their other songs are not without charm, “Chemicals” is the best definition of a “Feel Trip’ with beautiful visuals to complement the epic questioning of the unknown. If you have only three minutes before the commuter you’re on blows up, spend it watching Chemicals (and then promptly run away).
This band shows little sign of slowing down, having already shared billing with big name bands like The Foo Fighters and The Black Keys. Do yourself a favor and watch all of their videos on this site. Fair warning: you may need a hanky or two if some their videos tweak your heartstring in just the right way. No judging.