Joggers

Though the album cover for Solid Guild might have you thinking the Joggers are a Buffalo Springfield tribute band, their blatant appreciation does not carry into their own music. In fact, there isn’t a banjo or harmonica within miles of this record. Instead, what really makes the Joggers a unique indie rock outfit is the fact that not only does the band use all four members as vocalists, they fashion their singing in the age-old styles of shapenote and barbershop. The supporting music occasionally winks at Pavement’s playful idiosyncrasies and the constructive guitar work of Polvo’s Ash Bowie, always keeping a firm grasp on both unconventional design and vibrant chords. Axmen Murphy Kasiewicz and Ben Whitesides enjoy games of duelling lead guitars that seem like all-out battles on most tracks. The polyphony of the vocals on songs like the jumbled "Hot Autism” and "Back To The Future,” which climaxes with a full barbershop quartet performance in the midst of the song, stresses how important multiplicity is in the Joggers camp.