''The JCQ'' (previously known as ''The James Cleaver Quintet'') were a

British rock British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the United Kingdom. Since around 1964, with the "British Invasion" of the United States spearheaded by the Beatles, British rock music has had a considerable impact on the develop ...

band from

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

, United Kingdom. They were signed to Hassle Records. Described as a "mental breakdown set to music", the band released one EP and two full-length studio albums: ''Ten Stages of a Makeup'' in 2010, ''That Was Then, This Is Now'' and 2011 and ''Mechanical Young'' in 2013.

History

In March 2010 the band's debut extended play ''Ten Stages of a Make Up'' was released In August 2011 the band released the EP for free on the internet in preparation for their first album's release. In January 2011 the band released the song "Chicken Shit (For The Soul)" as the first single off their debut album, ''That Was Then, This Is Now'', which was proposed to be released in April. The band also completed a tour of the United Kingdom in February to support the release of the single. In August 2011 the band filmed a

Lucozade Lucozade is a British brand of soft drink manufactured and marketed by the Japanese company Suntory. Created as "Glucozade" in the UK in 1927 by a Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Newcastle pharmacist, William Walker Hunter (trading as W. Owen & Son), it ...

advertisement, where the five members roll down with different vehicles performing a cover of Feeders' Buck Rogers. On 31 October 2011, the band released their debut album ''

That Was Then, This Is Now ''That Was Then, This Is Now'' is a coming-of age, young adult novel by S. E. Hinton, first published in 1971. Set in the 1960s, it follows the relationship between two brothers, Mark Jennings and Bryon Douglas, who are foster brothers, but f ...

'', which opened to reception from popular critics such as the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...

, and

Rock Sound ''Rock Sound'' is a British magazine that covers rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, while also giving coverage to better-known acts. It generally focuses on pop punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, punk, e ...

. In promotion of the record the band supported

Turbowolf Turbowolf are an English rock band founded in Bristol, whose members include Chris Georgiadis (vocals and synthesisers), Andy Ghosh (guitar), Lianna Lee Davies (bass guitar) and Blake Davies (drums). Their first album, ''Turbowolf'', was releas ...

with

Hawk Eyes Hawk Eyes are a rock band from Leeds, England. They formed in late 2004 and released their official debut album '' Modern Bodies'' on 1 November 2010 through Brew Records. History Early years (2004–2010) The band played a part in the Lee ...

across the United Kingdom in November. Across the next year ''The JCQ'' supported

Enter Shikari Enter Shikari (stylised as enter: shikari and occasionally as ΣΠΤΣ℞ SΗΦΚ∆℞Φ) are a British rock band formed in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England in 1999 by bassist Chris Batten, lead vocalist and keyboardist Rou Reynolds, and drum ...

and

Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...

and completed a co-headline tour with

The Safety Fire The Safety Fire were a British progressive metal band formed in London, England, in 2006. The Safety Fire first made a name for themselves in the UK scene with the release of their critically acclaimed EP "Sections" in 2009 and their reputation ...

. On 17 June 2013, the band released their second studio album '' Mechanical Young''. The album was recorded in Sweden with

Pelle Henricsson Pelle may refer to: * ''Pelle'' (album), a 2000 studio album of the Italian band Punkreas * Pelle (given name) * Pelle (surname) * Pelle Pelle, a fashion brand ** " Pelle Coat", a 2023 song by Lil Durk named after the brand * An enzyme, also know ...

and Eskil Lovstrom, live using vintage equipment, the band wished to record it live as they believed it captured the band's energy and argued that "there are mistakes left in and not everything sounds 100% perfect, but that's where the real sense of the band lies – in those mistakes". The album revived positive reception from British Publications like

Big Cheese A big cheese is a boss or other senior person, particularly in an organization. Big Cheese or The Big Cheese may also refer to: Arts and Entertainment Music * Big Cheese (band), an English straight edge hardcore punk band * "Big Cheese", a s ...

Front Magazine ''Front'' was a British men's magazine. First published by Cabal Communications in 1998, it was created to rival IPC's publication '' Loaded'', catering to a demographic of 16- to 25-year-old males. It began as part of the British " lads' mag" ...

and

This Is Fake DIY ''DIY'' is a United Kingdom-based music publication, in print and online. Its free print edition is released monthly with a physical circulation of 40,000 in UK venues, clubs and shops. DIY Magazine ''DIY'' was launched in 2002 by then-editor ...

. Rock Sound writer Pete Withers in an eight out of ten review stated the album "is an absolute triumph in every regard". Terry Bezer when writing for Front in an otherwise positive review criticised the album saying: "sure, they could do with a little tightening and reigning it all in a bit from time to time but there’s an unbelievable amount of potential". For the promotion the band made a music video for ''Loves No Good''.

Musical style

The JCQ have been typically described as a "viciously imaginative hardcore band". Despite labelling their genre as "no thank you" ''The JCQ'' have been cited as

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

, punk rock,

art punk Art punk is a subgenre of punk rock in which artists go beyond the genre's rudimentary garage rock and are considered more sophisticated than their peers. These groups still generated punk's aesthetic of being simple, offensive, and free-spirit ...

, garage punk, and

mathcore Mathcore is a subgenre of hardcore punk and metalcore influenced by post-hardcore, extreme metal and math rock that developed during the 1990s. Bands in the genre emphasize complex and fluctuant rhythms through the use of irregular time signatur ...

and have been described as a "bizarre yet daring genre-splicing of hardcore,

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film * ''The Alternative ...

and

math-rock Math rock is a style of progressive and indie rock with roots in bands such as King Crimson and Rush as well as 20th-century minimal music composers such as Steve Reich. It is characterized by complex, atypical rhythmic structures (includi ...

". ''The JCQ's'' typical style features

thrash Thrash may refer to: *Thrashing (computer science), where increasing resources are used to do a decreasing amount of work *Thrash (surname) *Thrash, mascot of the Atlanta Thrashers *''Thrash Rally'', a top-down perspective rally racing video game ...

riffs A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accomp ...

, breakdowns, fast pace drumming, big choruses, rapid tempo changes, atmospheric breaks and "spastic" guitar work. However the band incorporates elements from other styles, including

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

. Birmingham based math rock band

Blakfish Blakfish was a mathcore band, also described as 'death pop' by the NME, The band from Birmingham, England formed in the year 2000 after meeting and becoming friends at school, contrary to their frequent fabricated claims that they all met in j ...

are seen as "spiritual forefathers" to the band. Their debut album ''

'' has been considered 'strikingly angular' 'frenetic chaos'. ''Mechanical Young'', is seen as exploring the same areas as their first album, however is much more expansive and refined by using

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

s, syncopated rhythms, keyboards, harsh riffs and an extended outro. The opening song 'Ghost Diffuse' has a

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

-inspired guitar riff. Single 'Love's No Good' has been considered their most commercial song using a "funky and cool Red Hot Chili Peppers cum Fun Lovin' Criminals-esque" sing-along

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

. The three songs 'No Kind of Man Parts 1+2' and the piano based instrumental 'iii' which splits them up are considered the centrepiece of 'Mechanical Young'. Part 1 is similar to the frenetic hardcore punk of their first album, while Part 2 has a surf punk style.

Members

* Jack – lead vocals * Maud – guitar,

tenor sax The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

* Michael – bass guitar * Paul – drums, percussion * Martin – keyboards, vocals

Discography

;Studio albums * ''

'' (2011,

Hassle Hassle is a location at Örebro Municipality in Örebro County, Sweden. It was the site of the discovery of the Hassle treasure. Hassle Treasure The Hassle treasure (Hassleskatten) was found at Hassle in the parish of Glanshammar during 193 ...

) * '' Mechanical Young'' (2013, Hassle) ;Music videos * "Chicken Shit (for the Soul)" (2010) * "Think or Swim" (2012) * "Love's No Good" (2013)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:JCQ Musical groups established in 2006 Musical quintets English alternative rock groups British post-hardcore musical groups English experimental rock groups