The James Cleaver Quintet

The James Cleaver Quintet

The James Cleaver Quintet, also known as JCQ, is a Birmingham-based group associated with post-hardcore, hardcore, stoner punk, screamo and indie, and also described across different contexts as punk rock, art punk, garage punk and mathcore. Their music is marked by thrash riffs, breakdowns, fast drumming, frequent tempo changes, big choruses, atmospheric breaks and angular guitar work, with some songs also drawing on swing and other styles. The band are linked to the Birmingham math rock group Blakfish, who are described as their spiritual forefathers.

Releases and early activity

The group’s debut extended play, Ten Stages of a Make Up, appears in March 2010 and is later made available for free online in August 2011 ahead of the first album. In January 2011 they release “Chicken Shit (For The Soul)” as the lead single from their debut album, That Was Then, This Is Now, which is planned for release in April before appearing later in the year. They tour the United Kingdom in support of the single.

The debut album That Was Then, This Is Now is released on 31 October 2011 and receives attention from BBC, Drowned in Sound and Rock Sound. In promotion of the record, the band supports Turbowolf and Hawk Eyes across the United Kingdom, and over the following year they also support Enter Shikari and Limp Bizkit, while completing a co-headline tour with The Safety Fire.

Mechanical Young

On 17 June 2013, The James Cleaver Quintet release their second studio album, Mechanical Young. The record is made in Sweden with Pelle Henricsson and Eskil Lovstrom and is recorded live using vintage equipment, with the band aiming to keep mistakes and imperfections in the performance. The album is generally seen as more expansive and refined than the debut, while still working in similar territory. It features tenor saxophones, syncopated rhythms, keyboards, harsh riffs and an extended outro. The opening track, “Ghost Diffuse,” uses a doom metal-inspired guitar riff.

The song “Love’s No Good” is treated as the band’s most commercial track, with a sing-along chorus that draws comparisons to Red Hot Chili Peppers and Fun Lovin’ Criminals. The three-part “No Kind of Man” sequence, with the piano instrumental “iii” between Parts 1 and 2, is described as a centrepiece of the album. Part 1 recalls the frenetic hardcore punk of the debut, while Part 2 has a surf punk character. The album receives positive notice from British music publications including Big Cheese, Front Magazine, Rock Sound and This Is Fake DIY.

Other activities

In August 2011, the five members film a Lucozade advertisement in which they perform a cover of Feeder’s “Buck Rogers” while arriving in different vehicles.

Style

The band’s own genre description is deliberately dismissive, but their output is generally placed in the post-hardcore and hardcore area, with an approach that mixes aggressive punk energy, complex rhythmic shifts and occasional melodic or groove-based sections. Their first album is described as angular and frenetic, while Mechanical Young broadens that approach with more instrumentation and a wider range of textures.