Grunge-rock fusion outfit headed by Jaben John Groome which embraces indie rock in all its forms. A bass guitar player who started singing just last year, Groome’s new project is about to release its second album, astonishingly, in that year’s time. Run, the follow-up to JBNG‘s first album Meh is expected Nov 1, 2024, with the first single, “Barely Know You” already out.
JBNG are based in British Columbia, comprising of Groome on vocals, Alejandro Yoshizawa on lead guitar, Jonathon Goldie on Rhythm, Tim Charman on bass and Matt Koopman on drums. It was the brainchild of Groome, who’s a lifelong musician and skilled bass player. Playing in bands and working on collaborations until recently, Groome found his own voice initially as a coping skill when he found that singing helped him manage the more manic symptoms of his bipolar diagnosis.
I learned it helps, switching the nervous system out of fight or flight mode.
It also helped fit something into place in terms of a defining style for Broome and his bandmates, and it seems the music just poured forth from there. A raspy mix of Tom Waits and John Rzeznik from the Goo Goo Dolls, Groome’s vocals give a distinctive edge to the many and sundry styles he and the band created for their debut in Meh, experimenting with everything metal-tinged grunge a’la Soundgarden and The Replacements to more poppy, funky bubblegum punk.
Meh quickly garnered JBNG a strong following, with nearly 30,000 followers on Spotify, but it’s the anticipation of Run that’s really got fans on the edge of their seats. “Barely Know You” already has nearly 100,000 streams on Spotify, so interest can only grow from here. Groome has become even more confident in wielding that unique voice as well, and as the band refines its style, it’s become even sharper and more interesting. Far from becoming samey, said style has become even more diverse, folding even more styles into the mix. “Barely Know You” is a crunchy shoegaze ballad, for example, whilst “Brutus” is a post punk call to action, politically tinged and more spoken word set to music than song.
The creativity and range JBNG have may have initially made their sound hard to define, but grounding it with Groome’s unique voice and creative lyrics means they can really go in any direction and still have something distinctive for the fans. The grunge-heavy “So Nice” dropped on October 1. More videos are on the way as well.
