JUMEAUX - Far Out

​JUMEAUX

Far Out 
self-released; 2017

​3.6 out of 5

By Jeremy Freeman

In this day and age with everything electronic at the musician’s disposal, that sometimes are overused and overproduced, it was absolutely refreshing to hear a very sparse but mesmerizing sound coming from JUMEAUX, a two-piece UK band consisting of sisters Laurel and Scarlett Jumeau. Originally recorded for a college assignment, the duo describes their EP Far Out as an “electro-pop journey of a lonely man who ventures into space to find friends.”

There is indeed a science fiction/space concept going on throughout the album and I, for one, was definitely into that. The drum machines, synthesizers and echoing guitars added to that space journey appeal as well, but the instrument that stood out for me the most were the duo’s gorgeous vocal harmonies – they were pure and hypnotizing. Laurel and Scarlett played most of the instruments with a little extra help from Dan White and Ryan Bunney playing the drums and bass respectively.

For the most part, the entire recording has a chill-out vibe with most of the songs played at a very slow tempo, except for “Cosmic Dance” which featured a steadier rhythm and the excerpt narration “The Beginning” which added a glimmer of hope and optimism to the lonely man traveling in space within these songs. The last song “Alienation” is about how loneliness is universal and indeed, the song felt lonely to me but it also had something that was quite captivating and original, too.

It was hard to make any comparisons to other musicians or albums, but creatively, I would say parts of it could be compared to what Bowie did on the Low album (which is one of my all time favorites) or perhaps something Radiohead or Björk did but with a stripped down sound.

This past summer JUMEAUX has been gigging and gearing their minds up at a university this fall where they will be studying songwriting. My hope is that we’ll be hearing more from this talented duo in the not so “far out” future.

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