Recommended tracks: “Build N Destroy (Feat. Pink Siifu)”, “Fallin” “Black Rose”
Artists you might like: Jimi Hendrix, Thundercat, Phoniks
Part punk, part psychedelic, and part funk: mix it all together and you get one heck of a record that embraces the boldness and the rawness of DIY artistry. Germany’s JuJu Rogers‘ fourth record, Pink Guitars, Spaceships N Voodoo Dolls embraces Black identity to its core through sound and creativity.
“No Sun” opens the record. The bleak, dystopic track opens to a haunting chorus about having zero light in the winter, harkening back to the track’s title. It later descends into the rock-rap genre with rhythmic snares and cymbals and space-out guitar riffs giving us a feeling of despair.
“Build N Destroy” features Pink Siifu, opening to a blues riff and later segueing into a spacey punk rock track on the refrain: “Peace is the absence of confusion.” It refers to how peace has lost its meaning and became a moot in geopolitics on a national scale.
“Black Rose” opens with a scintillating guitar and percussive production referencing ‘70s soul and R&B, calling back to the legendary Marvin Gaye’s work as JuJu hits the high notes. “Elohim,” featuring Chicago-based R&B artist, Jamila Woods is the standout track on the record. It exudes a punk rock vibe with wailing electric guitar riff, but still incorporates a hint of funk. Jamila’s high-pitched vocals evoke the ‘70s R&B/soul scene and eventually shift into rap.
“West” is the final track on the record. The distorted yet smooth guitar riffs paired with JuJu’s bluesy vocals are melancholy as he mentions doom scrolling to find a video of a horrific incident from somewhere around the world.
JuJu Rogers’ Pink Guitars, Spaceships N Voodoo Dolls is the record for those who miss the DIY punk rock scene as it incorporates experimenting with genres, expressionistic styles, grungy and raw sounds, and sampling of previous works. It is also a politically charged record dealing with the concept race in the Western World, and we highly recommend giving it a listen.
You can listen to Pink Guitars, Spaceships N Voodoo Dolls below.
