Jiminy, released in September of 2023, is a 10-song album by the rock band Bear Ghost, and to say it is a wild ride is quite an understatement. While music having heart and other meanings below the surface is certainly nothing new, Bear Ghost takes this to a very precise and well thought degree, with several songs having deep or strange meanings not initially found with a surface look. Each track is a dive into a new feeling and walk of life, creating a very whole experience and leaving the listener thinking that much deeper about the occasional everyday thing.
A very good example of this is “Heavy News”, a song offering commentary on how news is portrayed and how everyone has their own opinions on what the truth is, ultimately leading to disarray. The lyrics describe an apocalypse and the collapse resulting from everyone having their own, equally wrong, approaches to the news, leading to everyone fighting each other rather than actually surviving. “Heavy News” being the second song in the tracklist also establishes that this is going to be a common trend as the album continues.
Another song in this vein is “Big Town Banky Blaine’s Rockabilly BBQ” (thankfully shortened to BTBBRBBBQ), which uses the metaphor of a restaurant fight club hybrid to describe the impact of capitalism. The people who can’t afford to actually eat fight for survival while the losers are served to feed the higher-ups. “Sirens” as well is a song used to describe a myriad of things, the track being able to be interpreted as either a metaphor for depression, for alcohol abuse, for social seclusion, or a bunch of other things. It’s because of this wide range that “Sirens” in particular resonates with so many people, including the band itself who commented that the lyrics came from their own experiences.
Of course, a rock album with songs being analogies for heavy topics is nothing new. You can count hundreds of prominent songs in the genre that center around telling a story or having a hidden theme. This is where the style and uniqueness of Bear Ghost’s sound comes in. It’s hard to truly explain a song of theirs and the weird, almost goofy energy that some of them have. This energy can shift by the song; “Peas and Love”, for example, has an upbeat and almost humorous energy, shifting into the dance-like but also heavy “Sirens,” into the Spanish instrumental based “Rivers is a Vampire,” into the sheer rock of “BTBBRBBBQ.”
Finally, it would be an insult to not address “Vulture,” the final song in the album. “Vulture” is a complete tonal shift from everything else in Jiminy, being a haunting, seven-minute long finale. While the lyrics are implying that “Vulture” is a commentary on the concept of saviors, gods, religion, etc, it’s deeper than that. It has a sheer, soul-touching energy that just rocks the listener to their core. While it is not my personal favorite song that Jiminy has to offer (“Sirens” takes that crown), it is from an objective perspective one of the best songs Bear Ghost has ever written overall.
Overall, Jiminy is a roller coaster of different feelings that has something for everyone. Whether your taste is fun upbeat songs that make you feel good, deep heavy commentary, or just straight power and vibes, Jiminy has it in some capacity. As the ending of “After Me, The Flood” states: “grab hold tight, ‘cause you’re in for quite a ride”.
