CodeJak – Hell Yeah

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Cumbrian alternative rock outfit CodeJak seem to be on a steady rise at the moment, picking up deals and endorsements on a regular basis, all leading to the release of their debut EP via the new record label arm of Alpha Wave Media Group, and from the evidence here, the attention is much deserved. The verse vocal melodies of opener Hell Yeah are straight off of the last couple of Clawfinger albums and the lead riff is basically the heavy one from Muse’s Knights of Cydonia, but with some good lead guitar towards the end it’s a quick (2:54), punchy song with plenty to hold the interest. Pull Out You Knife feels like an indie rock song, with a quirky riff and off-kilter vocal delivery, breaking down into classic driving rock in the middle of the track before dropping off to an acapella chorus and back up to a Slash solo finish; combining the best of both worlds, really. The final song is the absolutley magnificent Little Boy; at once sombre, ominous, tragic and frantic, packed with Audioslave-ish guitars. Lyrically brilliant too. There is a lot of potential here for something that genuinly crosses-over the modern radio-rock sound and actual rock. With that comes a persistent danger that they will swing too far in the commerical direction and lose what it is that makes them an interesting prospect, but if they stick to their Soundgarden tendencies to counter the trendy leanings evident on Pull Out Your Knife then they’ll have nothing to worry about.

Written by Andy Lye
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