Video: The Jacks, ‘Walk Away’

Kevin Bronson on June 25th, 2019

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The Jacks make straight-ahead rock ’n’ roll for those who think four-piece bands will never go out of style and those who live in the present — i.e., they don’t give a whit if what is bursting through their speakers sounds too uncomfortably like the Stones, the Strokes or even the Black Keys.

What you see in the video for the Orange County-bred quartet’s buzzing single “Walk Away” is what you get: four rough-and-tumble guys playing the bejesus out of their instruments for four taut minutes. Their mission? “We’re trying to push the boundaries of the rock ’n’ roll genre by incorporating modern elements, but still keeping the core structure of a four-piece band,” says singer-guitarist Jonny Stanback, joined in the band by guitarist Tom Hunter, bassist Scott Stone and drummer Josh Roossin. “We are creating a sound you’ve never heard before, but feels familiar.”

The foursome, the first signees to new Edgeout Records (a label founded by Tony Guanci and Cheryl Benson-Guanci that aims to develop young rock bands), found an ally in producer Matt Wallace, whose long resumé includes albums by Faith No More, Maroon 5 and Paul Westerberg, among others.

Wallace calls the music on the Jacks’ self-titled EP “lean, rugged rock ’n’ roll with songs that feel like instant classics that make you want to move, with earworm hooks and melodies that will have you kinda upset when you find yourself unintentionally and inappropriately humming their songs at work, in church, in court, or at wakes.” He also enthuses: “If the Strokes, Cage the Elephant, and the Stones had an equally talented, but more handsome baby, it would be named the Jacks.”

The Jacks’ EP is out on Friday.

||| Watch: the video for “Walk Away”