THE JELLY JAM

3.5 stars. In the liner notes each song is shown on a different jar of jam. Cute. As others have noted this is basically PLATYPUS minus Derek Sherinian and the sound now is more like KINGS X. What I liked most about this album was the drumming of Rod Morgenstein and with the bass of John Myung we have an amazing rhythm section. As hdfisch notes this is probably more Alternative sounding then anything else,and I really like their sound.

"I Can't Help You" is one of the heavier and better songs on the record.The heavy bass and rolling drums are great ! Can Rod drum or what ? "No Remedy" is very KINGS X sounding. Heavy with THE BEATLES like harmonies.The drumming and bass lines 3 minutes in are incredible. "Native" is a short instrumental. "Nature's Girl" is an uptempo, catchy tune that I bet they had a blast playing.

"Feeling" is in the same style as the previous ones and it's starting to get boring. Fortunately the rest of the songs provide some variety starting with "Reliving", a mellow tune with some good vocals and a tasteful guitar solo. "The Jelly Jam" is the best song on the record, a slower paced instrumental that is quite atmospheric. The lead guitar is amazing from Ty. "I Am A King" has a dreamy sound to it, although not so much in the chorus.There is a nice breakout of guitar as well. "The King's Dance" is a laidback instrumental with some lazy, spacey guitar melodies that grow more intense as the song plays out. "Under The Tree" has an Eastern feel to it at times.

This is a good record that I would definetly recommend to fans of Alternative music.