Tribe 989 – “Jack & Shine”

Tribe 989 – “Jack & Shine” – Single Review

Ohhhhhhh boy…what the heck am I going to say about this?

This is, indeed, a song.  Let’s start there.  After that, it’s much harder to assess.

So look…I’ll be upfront and tell ya that I have pretty much always believed that Hard Rock is about the world’s toughest genre to stand out in.  In many ways, it’s party-Rock…heck, even in this very song from Tribe 989, they’ll tell you themselves that it’s not about creating something too meaningful, more-so than it’s about getting “drunk all night.”  Cool.  If that’s what you’re into, believe me when I tell you, you’ll get no resistance from me.  This planet has enough space for all kinds of songs about all kinds of things, and I have no doubt whatsoever that a track like “Jack & Shine” would go down real smooth with the bar crowd and whiskey drinkers worldwide.  Is it for me?  No.  But that should never really matter.

When it comes to the music itself, I can hear the potential in the band.  Specifically, when listening to “Jack & Shine,” I think Cassie’s bass is an enormous highlight and probably my favorite element of the song.  I dig the guitars from Steven and Sean enough, even if I didn’t think they stood out quite as much as the rhythm section in this band does at the moment.  That brings us to Patrick on the drums, who is quite clearly a superhuman warrior beast on the kit, and could very well be the main player in this band that brings Tribe 989 to a whole other level.  It’s crystal clear that the guy is extraordinarily talented.  Does that mean he’s off the hook?  Heck no!  While his performance on “Jack & Shine” is undoubtedly impressive in a variety of ways, it is hardly an example of any professional restraint…which could be a concern going forward unless they want to make Patrick the featured player of the band.  Cause as it stands right now, you’re probably going to notice the drums more than any other part of this single.  It’d be tough, if not outright futile to compete against him for the center of the spotlight, and if I was a part of Tribe 989, I’d probably be looking for him to play in a way that feels more like he’s doing the right things for the songs and the band, rather than continuing to build his resume, you know what I mean?  But don’t get it twisted…the dude can play…they all can from what I hear…none of my issues revolve around the musicianship so much as they revolve around wondering if the songwriting is really enough.  That being said…if we wanna split hairs and such, the comeback from the breakdown around the 2:40 mark is a bit problematic…not enough to the point where most folks would notice, but some of us will.

That leaves us with Jessica – who again, puts in a noteworthy performance that she should be fully satisfied with.  If I was to judge by this one single, I’d tell ya the lady sounds like an impressive frontwoman for her band, and that she’s got a ton of confidence & presence on the mic.  I don’t know that she’s established enough identity yet…so there’s room to grow and evolve in that respect…but hell yeah, she clearly has the kind of chops that can get a crowd amped up.  Having said that, I had to take a sneak peek at the song they released prior to this because it caught my eye – “Eye Of The Tiger.”  Ain’t no one out there gonna call their original song that after Survivor’s mega-hit, so I knew it had to be a cover, which it was.  Now…I’m not here to write about that, but suffice it to say, that was an entirely different version of Jessica…and a single spin through both songs will reveal the tremendous growth she’s already experienced between “Eye Of The Tiger” and “Jack & Shine.”  I know which version I’d want singing for my band, and that’s definitely the version of Jessica that we hear on this newer single.

I suppose the real question is that, if Tribe 989 has all the right pieces to succeed…what’s stopping me from being fully onboard with “Jack & Shine?”  I think it’s just the material itself.  Like I said from the very start, it is so extremely tough to stand out in the Hard Rock/Metal crowd, and it’s only becoming that much harder by the day.  What they have in this single, is a song that’s built for the moment itself – as in, if you were there, listening to this at the bar, and the band was performing it with the energy and tone that they have on this recording, you’d be drinks UP, having a great time I’m sure.  As to whether or not you’d remember it the next day…I think that’s much more up for debate.  I’m even willing to say that the main hook of the chorus could be memorable…at least for a little while…but I’m not sure that’s enough to put Tribe 989 on the musical map overall.  What concerns me most, is that “Jack & Shine” practically sounds like they’re writing for the bar crowd – which again, might not be the worst strategy if they have no other ambitions beyond playing those types of places.  If they’re looking to head to the big stages and even mid-sized venues to headline, there is plenty of work still needed to be done, and I’m the dude that’ll tell you that…that’s where my opinion probably means a little something more than whether or not I like a song or not.  Give’em time…let’em cook, as they say…from what I can see online, has only been around for a relatively short time so far, and to their credit, they’ve already shared the stage with some highly impressive names like Adema and Tantric.  It takes time and experience for a band to really settle into their identity in most cases, so I think it’s only fair that we give Tribe 989 more time to figure out what’s going to be key in setting them apart from the rest of what’s out there already.

As it stands, “Jack & Shine” is another solid step forward for the band as a whole I’m sure, but my gut tells me that the more they dig in and discuss what kind of music they really want to make, as opposed to a song like “Jack & Shine” that will pointedly tell you which kind they don’t, the further they’ll go.  Any band would be lucky to have their combined talents…now it’s all about refining them and getting to their max potential.  Give’em time…this track is merely an appetizer for what they’re really capable of.

Find out more about Tribe 989 from their official website at:  https://tribe989.com

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