Albums
Dif Juz, Soundpool
Dif Juz, however you’re meant to pronounce it, is music for music dorks such as myself. Soundpool presents the quartet’s…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- Boats We Missed (Of Recent Note)
- The Hot ______ of the Summer (Of Recent Note)
- Staycations (Of Recent Note)
Also by Andrew Womack
» SEE MORE
NEWSLETTER
Prize Lovers Apply Here
More addictive than heroin, more challenging than Sudoku: the TMN Map Quiz, delivered hot, fresh, and diabolical to your inbox every Friday.» SIGN UP
Dif Juz, however you’re meant to pronounce it, is music for music dorks such as myself. Soundpool presents the quartet’s first two EPs, Huremics and Vibrating Air, with their excellent contribution to the Lonely Is An Eyesore 4AD compilation, ‘No Motion’ (which may, although I have no proof of this, touch every musical key) stuck on the end.
The band was, sadly, short-lived, its ethereal instrumental prog being too out of vogue for a major audience in the early- to mid-’80s. But the influence is most felt in what would, ten years later, be coined ‘post-rock.’ Except it’s truly beautiful, instead of only being intricate.
Although it is, essentially, that intricacy that makes the music of Dif Juz so interesting. It’s a rhythm that builds consistently, and then hits the listener with that moment of astonishment when all they really did is change out a floor-tom beat. In fact, it takes that level of dork-willingness to feel what’s so brilliant about the songs. It takes attention to detail. It takes repeated listens. It takes headphones. It’ll also take tight lips, so that when you’ve got this playing at a party and that extra synth fill sneaks into the left channel, you don’t ass yourself by making company listen to the same two bars over and over, demanding they notice the change.
Okay, here’s my shot at saying it: ‘DIFF JUHZZ.’
The band was, sadly, short-lived, its ethereal instrumental prog being too out of vogue for a major audience in the early- to mid-’80s. But the influence is most felt in what would, ten years later, be coined ‘post-rock.’ Except it’s truly beautiful, instead of only being intricate.
Although it is, essentially, that intricacy that makes the music of Dif Juz so interesting. It’s a rhythm that builds consistently, and then hits the listener with that moment of astonishment when all they really did is change out a floor-tom beat. In fact, it takes that level of dork-willingness to feel what’s so brilliant about the songs. It takes attention to detail. It takes repeated listens. It takes headphones. It’ll also take tight lips, so that when you’ve got this playing at a party and that extra synth fill sneaks into the left channel, you don’t ass yourself by making company listen to the same two bars over and over, demanding they notice the change.
Okay, here’s my shot at saying it: ‘DIFF JUHZZ.’
—Published March 23, 2003
The Morning News is an online magazine, published weekdays since 1999
Copyright © The Morning News Corp.
All rights reserved. ISSN #1554-1490
“Black and white and read all over”
About: Masthead, Reader Mail, Privacy Policy
Inquire: Contact Us Shop: Merchandise
Advertise: TMN is part of the Deck Network
Subscribe: Newsletter, Syndicated Feed
Hosting provided by Tilted Planet
Published using Movable Type
Browse the Archives