German band The JEALS fuse pop punk and hardcore elements with an activist mindset, standing up against racism, homophobia, sexism, transphobia and environmental pollution in a sound they describe as “alternative, political and unconventional.”
The band’s members grew up in small towns in East Germany, individually fighting for tolerance and defending their towns against right-wing actors. They eventually formed The JEALS in Halle (Saale), the sixth most populous city in eastern Germany, and set about testing elements like classic rock, pop and pop-punk, they began fusing pop-punk melodies and attitude with hardcore breakdowns and more angry vocals.
The band has been performing on stage since 2013, playing over 200 shows and establishing a reputation in the underground German Polit-Punk scene. But it was only in 2019 that they were reborn as a fully fledged band.
And on the sound they’ve crafted since, the band told us: “A mix between old Paramore stuff, Sum-41 and A Day To Remember with social-criticising and political lyrics including irony and joy of life, but also a clear tone about the problems of our time.”
Our latest taste of this is their third album Future Now, which was released today. From it, the band sent us Unbeugsam – reimaged, a reworking of a track they first released five years ago. It opens up with driving drums that are joined by a funky little riff and a female cry that ushers in heavier guitars. Fast-paced vocals take over with stabbing punky guitars over the opening riff, before clean vocals lead into a feisty chorus. Male vocals take over with stabbing guitars driving the rhythm, and the female vocals return before shouted vocals feed into another big chorus. A cool little breakdown of guitar chords drops into lighter guitars and drums with gradually intensifying vocals setting up a final blast of the chorus.
The album is packed with more punky goodness. That includes the more melodic and classic pop-punk first track Sintflut, the big singalong Diskrepanz and Gentleman, before the feistiness steps up a notch on Eskapismus and Disparität, which opens up with a really cool stabbing riff and develops into intense screamed vocals. Then there’s the catchy Feuer und Flamme, before the more intense Drei-Schichten-Tortenboden (Three Layer Cake Base), which starts out with edgy vocals over piercing guitars before more intense vocals flow into a singalong chorus and ends with heavy guitars. And the album wraps up with the laid-back punky Was Du Für Mich Bist and the excellent final track November, which starts with light vocals that intensify with big shoutalong vocals.
On the album, the band told us: “People should be ready for the introduction of a hardcore note in our songs. We’ve been performing some of these songs for years, but now we present the new style. New songs are already written and we are getting harder, faster and straighter on our way, developing our style.
“People can expect a criticising caricature of our time. The main story is in every track on the album. While the songs are really different from each other, they belong together in music, message and storytelling. In the end, you’ll get an album with a clear and cleverly presented warning, but also hope and pure joy of life and its good sides, which we should protect.”
The JEALS sounds has been fused from a wide range of musical interests, from punk rock to modern metal music. Band members harness influences from everything from Reinhald Grebe (German satirical songwriter), K.I.Z. (German hip hop band) and Lady Gaga to Parkway Drive, Sum-41, Rise Against and Muse. As the band tells us: “There was a time when every track was in a new style, depending on who wrote it. Then we took a seat in the bandroom and brainstormed what we need to be happy with the music we do. One of us said a catchy hook, someone said a breakdown, someone needed a melody, not just chords. And so our own interests influenced the most important things, every one of us needed in the music and we compromised – like in a democracy.”
And on what inspires them to write music, they explain: “First of all: We love this. Standing on a stage is a crazy feeling between being high, feeling adrenaline and positive stress. You can get addicted to it. It gives energy, it hurts, it heals, it leads you to incredible and wonderful moments and sometimes you need days or weeks to realise what happened, because you never had a situation like that before. It’s like living in a relationship with the music. So the main reason for making music is simple. We’re loving it and all the stuff that’s connected with it. And maybe we are addicted.
“But if you watch the detail – why you love it – you have many more reasons and much more motivation for our music. You can regulate your emotions with it, use it for important messages, reach people with your point of view, give ideas for discussions and transportate what needs to be on the agenda: Defending democracy against right-wing actors, educating about human problems. Some people don’t think about capital distribution within the society or the environment, and you can counter conservatives, who want a society just for a special kind of human and discriminate against other genders, cultures and so on. It’s important in a democracy that people want to be part of the process and show how they want to live. And we do. We want to live in a fair and solidary society, with the same chances for everybody and a respectful mind about future generations and other forms of life.”
The JEALS new album Future Now is out today. The band will also be releasing the first song they ever wrote as a pop-punk ballad by the end of the year. And they’ll be busy next year as they embark on a German tour in January and February, taking in Berlin, Hildesheim, Leipzig, Dresden, Ludwigsburg, Nürnberg and Wermeskirchen. They also have festival shows already booked in and they have a new EP in the works.
And the band added: “Don’t treat others as you wouldn’t want to be treated. Be a human. Always. Don’t forget to have a vision for a world you want to live in in 2050. And: follow and listen to us!”
You can follow The JEALS on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
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