Jeerk – Famous

Jeerk are a very unusual band – they are a rock band, a rhythm group and a tap dance act.  Yes that’s right, the band members are all tap dancers as well as musicians.  They formed Jeerk in 2002 and toured Sweden in 2004 for a whole year.  They’ve toured since then including shows in Bucharest, Istanbul and Frankfurt.  They have appeared in the opening ceremony of the European Ahtletics Championship and in the “Dancing with the stars” TV show in Sweden and Romania, and were the intermission act at the 2006 Eurovision song contest. “Famous” is the band’s first full-length release, and was recorded in Gothenburg.

It sounds such a bizarre idea that I had to listen to it and hear what it was going to be like.  The answer is “surprisingly good”.  The album is very good but at the same time it’s also very quirky and different.

Opening track “You wait to live another day” is a great melodic rock track with more pronounced and sharper drum beats (presumably the tap element), but midway through the song is a keyboard section that sounds very much like it would belong in “Riverdance” with its Celtic sound.

“Famous” is another great track but this time the strange element is a Queen Bohemian rhapsody style section midway through the song.

“Beautiful tonight” is a great AOR/rock track with a strong 80s feel to it.

Really that sums up how the album goes – it’s generally rock or melodic rock but every so often there’s a little oddity thrown in which really does make this album stand out.  It’s got a fun feel as well as some great music. Well worth a listen.

Rating: 7/10

Jeerk are:

Nikke Karlsson – vocals/guitar
Thomas Bergstig – Bass/piano/accordion/backing vocals
Kristian Lindlin – vocals/guitar/bass
Johan Regnell – Drums/percussion

Track listing:

1. You wait to live another day
2. Famous
3. Emergency
4. Beautiful tonight
5. Get out or get it on
6. Wasn’t my goodbye
7. Go out in style
8. On my own
9. You learn