When Pennsylvania metal band The Juliana Theory's Love was released a little more than a year ago, the band and its Epic label had fingers crossed that the group's third studio album would prove a success. But, produced by former Talking Head Jerry Harrison, The Juliana Theory's major-label debut came off like an over-the-top attempt at superstardom. Everything was grand in ambition for a band which had evoked straightforward simplicity in its earlier and best work. Rolling Stone summarized the album's response in a one-sentence coffin-nail of a review, calling Love an "emo-punk version of a Creed album, complete with dark, near-metal riffage, thrashy screeching, big-ass choruses and tenaciously serious poetry about "suffer[ing] a heart attack under the weight of the world."
If the rock rag's words were a bit severe, Epic seemed to take them to heart, refraining from full support for the band. "We were a little bummed out with the way things went with our former label," says the band's bassist Chad Alan, while stopped in Chicago during the band's current tour. "We hoped they might have got behind it more. We were hoping to do a little more touring overseas than we did, and we would have liked to make a video for a song or two off the album, but it never happened."
The Juliana Theory and Epic eventually parted ways. "That definitely bummed us out, but it didn't discourage us because we've just been writing," Alan says. "We tend to write a lot of songs." To that effect, the band has recently posted a couple demos of new material online at www.thejulianatheory.com.
"We haven't started recording the new record yet," the bassist explains. "We just basically did those on our own. They're just demos we decided to put up on the Web just for fans. We've been doing a lot of writing, but we haven't started recording yet."
The online demos are revealing for a band which failed with an attempt at grand eloquence. Its new material sounds like a conscious attempt to pull back and return to a more basic, tight song structure. One new song, "My Heart Is a Soldier," starts with a driving guitar burst reminiscent of Interpol. Alan confirms the turn in direction.
"That's the approach we're taking for the new record," he says. "We just did a bunch of live takes of each song. That's definitely a different approach for us as far as recording, and I think we're going to stick with that for the new record. We'll end up coming out with a more live, raw outcome than previously."
The more organic recording process seems to fit the band and is consistent with its initial rise. "Everything we've achieved is due to a lot of touring and a lot of hard work, a lot of grassroots work," Alan says. "It was weird when we signed to a major label because we weren't used to that.
"The last album had that slick feel to it. We just wanted to try something different. It's fun to strip down."
The final element of their back-to-basics approach is a recommitment to touring. The Juliana Theory recently began a five-week, nationwide excursion which ends on the West Coast and brings them to Sin City for the first time in nearly a year. "We usually have really good shows there," Alan says. "It's always a fun night of rocking out, and then afterwards we go hit up some blackjack tables, slot machines, a few drinks. It's always fun."