“Jealous King” by Made Violent

By Wisdom Akpan

Made Violent are the guys proving that there’s still room for a bluesy punk sound in modern garage rock. Many of the songs on their debut album Wannabe are catchy, danceable jams that would be right at home on a summer road trip. But the group flips the script with Jealous King, the last tune on the LP. It’s a stirring change of pace filled with a hurts-so-good sense of longing.

Lead singer and bassist Joel White starts the song with a patient bass riff that perpetuates a sense of thoughtfulness throughout. White’s raspy singing style invokes soul as he alternates between lines packed to the gills with words and more spacious and measured phrasing. 

His rhythmic mumbling on the verses feeds seamlessly into a refrain about the “the only one who could always let me down” and builds to chilling belts surrounded by Justin Acee’s crashing drums. The guitarist Rob Romano piles on a haunting lick solo as White howls the lines “ever let me down”.  After the second solo, the wail of feedback and unidentified keys helps us descend down from the peak. 

As complete a song as it is, I look forward to seeing Made Violent perform Jealous King live. If they can bring most of what makes the studio version work to the stage version I’m sure it’ll be a powerful tune to experience in person.

Made Violent is an alternative rock band from Buffalo, New York. Photo courtesy of Band Camp.