Kind of Out, Kind of Strange, Dead Rockstars Stuck in Magazines: The Headbanging Grunge Cuts of Jovi Skyler

If you’re looking for the kind of album that puts a leaded punk-booted foot on the gas, check out the latest from Jovi Skyler with his latest record, Unpopular. Jovi Skyler’s unique style of music hearkens back to both the golden age of grunge while maintaining its gritty and unrepentant underground independence you can’t get from the most gilded or decorated musicians of yore.

Jovi’s writing carries shocking yet starkly reality-facing truths like a swinging axe, meant to make a necessary cut while achieving a grungy macabre in context. With lyrics like, “All the dust innovates, we’re just bones, we’re just bones,” Jovi Skyler is the lively and breathing underground counterpart to the dead rockstars he sings about.

Quick rhythm guitars strummed over banging drums, this punk rocker should be the pinnacle of your attention and the top of your punk playlists. In an age where so much is thoughtlessly produced and “generative” slop, he shows up as his individual self and knows exactly where his sound takes root.

“Dead Rockstars” is about the end of authenticity, the dopamine machine, the overwhelming overload and rehash of society itself, and the copy and paste of the individual.” – Jovi Skyler

Jovi wasn’t kidding when he said as much, and the lyrics’ imagery clearly attests. With lines about digging up their tombs and essentially raiding what they gave in their art just to rehash it all for a quick “fix” of feel-good and “look at me” stuff, his vocal tone and performance throughout the track are only part of what cements his ability to throw his own DNA into the ’90s spirit of “Dead Rockstars.”

Bending the ideas of what we consider to be a revival of this era’s best sounds, Jovi Skyler defies the very subject matter of what the song’s about. With a sickening twist of psychedelia (like, siiiick), Skyler’s able to exemplify and amplify what’s on the other side of the gap between those who rob the graves and former works of the greats before, and those who have built and crossed the bridge to truly revived and uniquely modern alternative rock/grunge.

Just as well, it should come as no surprise that the punk spirit and story behind “Dead Rockstars” was forged in a journey that spans from a recording basement in Sydney to the Seattle studio of grunge legend and mastering engineer, Jack Endino. (Yes, as in the Endino who’s worked on Nirvana’s Bleach, as well as albums with Soundgarden and Mudhoney.)

Even though it’s been mastered by the Godfather of Grunge, make no mistake — this isn’t your modern radio, slap-a-dope-name-on-it for association’s sake type song. Hell, it feels like Jovi busted out a can of whoop ass and true punk nature that could really only call upon an expert in the field to tame it, someone who knows the vision like the front of his favorite record player.

If you’re one to keep a finger on the pulse of the Seattle grunge sound regardless of its origin, you gotta keep up with Jovi Skyler’s work. Unpopular and “Dead Rockstars” is just a taste of what he’s got to give, throw at, and launch full speed at an unsuspecting world in desperate need of authentic alt punk again.

Watch the official music video for Jovi Skyler’s “DEAD ROCKSTARS”

Turn off the damn TV and keep up with Jovi Skyler on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, and Bandcamp. This is the punk music you’ve only thought wasn’t being made anymore.

 

Written by Samson Winsor

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About Rock the Pigeon:
Rock the Pigeon is an independent music and culture blog dedicated to uplifting emerging artists, spotlighting underrepresented voices, and sharing fresh sounds across genres. Since 2012, we’ve been celebrating creativity, authenticity, and the stories behind the songs.