+/-
Jumping the Tracks
Release Date: Feb 4, 2014
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Rock, Indie Electronic, Indie Pop, Dream Pop
Record label: Teenbeat
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Album Review: Jumping the Tracks by +/-
Very Good, Based on 3 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Originally conceived in the late '90s as a solo outlet for Versus member James Baluyut, +/- stormed through the 2000s with a string of releases that quickly developed a signature sound of intricate rhythms and indie rock hooks. Though +/- quickly grew from a solo project into a fully formed touring band, things slowed down dramatically after the release of their 2008 album, Xs on Your Eyes, as the members of the band found more and more of their time going to full-time jobs and growing families. Written and recorded in the five years following that last album, the songs on Jumping the Tracks reflect the growing maturity and wisdom of the creative minds that wrote them.
Based on rating 8/10
Some albums come along and lodge themselves in the brain surreptitiously without you even noticing. Jumping The Tracks is one of those albums. I was happily going about my mundane business the other day, humming a tune to myself. I stopped and thought “what is that insistent melody that is running around and around my head? Oh yeah, it’s +/-.
Based on rating 4/10
The name +/- (Plus/Minus) reminds me of the Spanish phrase “más o menos,” which directly translates to “more or less” in English. In case you forgot sophomore year Spanish class, it’s more often used to convey a sense of “meh.” For +/- (Plus/Minus)’s latest album, Jumping The Tracks, that seems apt. Everything about this record is perfectly serviceable.
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