photo by Lord Fotog "Feel it slipping / Through your fingertips / Words like venom / Behind your wicked lips..."
The fiery post punk grooves and wicked downbeats of "Cane" by Seattle's post punk stalwart's Jupe Jupe, and a potent glimpse of their 7th full length studio album "King of Sorrows" (dropping Feb 2026), is a heartfelt vibrant collision of post punk, romance / dark wave. Built on snappy, magnetic guitar rhythms, vast synths, bass and drum dances, propulsive synth switch-ups and a super hooky chorus that highlights not only the pop prowess in the writing but My Young's vocal countenance that is the perfect combination of lush and pained and had me thinking a bit of Andy McCluskey of OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark). This 80's / 90's inspirational / nostalgic touchstone has always grounded Jupe Jupe's sound in a space that harbors memoric loving gut punches for some of us who reveled in these youthful sounds uttered in the same breath of bands like Roxy Music, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, ABC, that milieu of stylized gaze at the moon heartbreak that felt sleeker and shinier than the goth realm of The Cure or Siouxsie and the Banshees (while including that cloistered side as well), and, of course, Jupe Jupe is cross generational pulling in gen alphas who find all that good stuff in their father's crate of vinyl.
"Cane" is a vibrant, emotionally drawn addiction of sonic post punk iconography, done up in Jupe Jupe's signature way. Dig this so much.
LINER NOTES (excerpted / bracketed):
[Jupe Jupe features My Young on vocals and synths, Bryan Manzo on guitar, bass, and saxophone, Patrick Partington on guitar, and Jarrod Arbini on drums and percussion. Veterans of the Seattle and Austin music scenes, the quartet brings a refined sense of craft to their songwriting—balancing emotional weight with melodic urgency.
Since forming, Jupe Jupe has released eight acclaimed albums and EPs, including Invaders, Reduction in Drag, Crooked Kisses, Lonely Creatures, Nightfall, Midnight Waits for No One, and King of Sorrows (releasing February 2026). Their remix album Cut Up Kisses features collaborations with notable producers and artists such as Lusine, Rick G. Nelson (The Afghan Whigs), Mike Simonetti, and Erik Blood.]
"Trust yourself,
Trust your skin,It’s thicker than thin.
Trust yourself,
Love yourself.
More."
-Robb Donker Curtius
+ + +
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://twitter.com/jupejupemusic
https://open.spotify.com/artist/61kth6vppTfu42zn6h66y2
https://www.instagram.com/jupejupemusic/
https://www.jupejupemusic.com/
https://soundcloud.com/jupejupemusic
https://jupejupemusic.bandcamp.com/
Jupe Jupe crafts a cinematic blend of melodic post-punk and darkwave atmospherics, where brooding synths and angular guitars collide with crooning baritone vocals and pulse-driven rhythms. Their songs explore the human condition in an age of dissonance—searching for connection and harmony amid modern anxieties. The result is a seductive, shadow-lit soundscape that moves the body as much as it haunts the memory.
Based in Seattle, Jupe Jupe features My Young on vocals and synths, Bryan Manzo on guitar, bass, and saxophone, Patrick Partington on guitar, and Jarrod Arbini on drums and percussion. Veterans of the Seattle and Austin music scenes, the quartet brings a refined sense of craft to their songwriting—balancing emotional weight with melodic urgency.
Since forming, Jupe Jupe has released eight acclaimed albums and EPs, including Invaders, Reduction in Drag, Crooked Kisses, Lonely Creatures, Nightfall, Midnight Waits for No One, and King of Sorrows (releasing February 2026). Their remix album Cut Up Kisses features collaborations with notable producers and artists such as Lusine, Rick G. Nelson (The Afghan Whigs), Mike Simonetti, and Erik Blood.
Jupe Jupe’s music has resonated across college and alternative radio, with Lonely Creatures landing in the Top 30 Most-Added albums during its first week, and holding a spot in the NACC Top 200 for a month. Crooked Kisses and Reduction in Drag both charted on the CMJ Top 200, while their single “Pieces of You” was featured on the CMJ March 2014 Mixtape. The band has also received support from KEXP with multiple podcast features and regional airplay.
Jupe Jupe has shared bills with The Ocean Blue, ACTORS, LEATHERS, We Are Scientists, The Alarm, Yelle, The Pipettes, and Penguin Prison, among others. They performed at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, appeared as featured artists on two episodes of the TV series Band in Seattle, and brought their dark, dynamic live set to the 2024 and 2025 Seattle Seagaze festivals. Dedicated to community as well as craft, the band has also contributed performances to numerous benefit events supporting organizations such as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and Teen Feed.
With a growing catalog of evocative, pulse-driven songs and a reputation for immersive live performances, Jupe Jupe continues to carve their own path through the modern darkwave and post-punk landscape.
Jupe Jupe, gothic, Seattle, Austin, post punk stalwarts, darkwave, nuwave, alt pop, indie pop, indie rock, alt rock, tropical punk, romance wave, ""Cane", Seattle, sonic iconography, 7th full length studio album "King of Sorrows", Jupe Jupe crafts a cinematic blend of melodic post-punk and darkwave atmospherics, where brooding synths and angular guitars collide with crooning baritone vocals and pulse-driven rhythms. Their songs explore the human condition in an age of dissonance—searching for connection and harmony amid modern anxieties. The result is a seductive, shadow-lit soundscape that moves the body as much as it haunts the memory.
Based in Seattle, Jupe Jupe features My Young on vocals and synths, Bryan Manzo on guitar, bass, and saxophone, Patrick Partington on guitar, and Jarrod Arbini on drums and percussion. Veterans of the Seattle and Austin music scenes, the quartet brings a refined sense of craft to their songwriting—balancing emotional weight with melodic urgency.
Since forming, Jupe Jupe has released eight acclaimed albums and EPs, including Invaders, Reduction in Drag, Crooked Kisses, Lonely Creatures, Nightfall, Midnight Waits for No One, and King of Sorrows (releasing February 2026). Their remix album Cut Up Kisses features collaborations with notable producers and artists such as Lusine, Rick G. Nelson (The Afghan Whigs), Mike Simonetti, and Erik Blood.
Jupe Jupe’s music has resonated across college and alternative radio, with Lonely Creatures landing in the Top 30 Most-Added albums during its first week, and holding a spot in the NACC Top 200 for a month. Crooked Kisses and Reduction in Drag both charted on the CMJ Top 200, while their single “Pieces of You” was featured on the CMJ March 2014 Mixtape. The band has also received support from KEXP with multiple podcast features and regional airplay.
Jupe Jupe has shared bills with The Ocean Blue, ACTORS, LEATHERS, We Are Scientists, The Alarm, Yelle, The Pipettes, and Penguin Prison, among others. They performed at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, appeared as featured artists on two episodes of the TV series Band in Seattle, and brought their dark, dynamic live set to the 2024 and 2025 Seattle Seagaze festivals. Dedicated to community as well as craft, the band has also contributed performances to numerous benefit events supporting organizations such as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and Teen Feed.
With a growing catalog of evocative, pulse-driven songs and a reputation for immersive live performances, Jupe Jupe continues to carve their own path through the modern darkwave and post-punk landscape.
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