The Juan Solo 7 – Persona (Album Review)

Welcome back to another review on this wonderful platform. In today’s review, we will encounter a an alternative hard rock outfit from Raleigh, North Carolina, led by the former guitarist from Breed 13, Jason Nunn. The album is a mixture of different influences, described as ‘a little bit indie, a little bit shoegaze, a little bit metal’, all bonded together through the power of the versatile electric guitar.

Some quotes are given as a primer to an introduction to this band, such as ‘Hard, heavy alt-rock with spacey undertones’, as well as ‘great guitar playing and tone choices with high-level production across the board’.

They’re also described as an act that combines Tool with Foo Fighters, and a touch of Nirvana for good measure.

The album is definitely very nostalgic in some ways, returning to subgenres of rock that sound more genuine and whole. I like that it does that without necessarily needing to employ the ‘revivalist’ hack, making it seem familiar but novel at the same time. There’s a lot of hidden compositional quirks within these songs, that could definitely keep your attention, such as slight variation in the percussive highs of tracks like ‘Persona’. It almost comes off as a reimagined version of the ‘Charmed’ theme song, rather, a cover of ‘How Soon Is Now?’ by The Smiths.

The resemblance to Nirvana’s sound gets a bit more apparent in the second track of the album, titled ‘Disco Weather’, with the melodic guitars reminiscent of a lot of tracks on the ‘Bleach’ album before the group turned somewhat big in the commercial sphere. There’s a dynamic aspect to the songs within this body of work that completely draws you in, with the wonderful arrangement and balance between each instrument. There’s a decent amount of dynamic highs and lows, leaving room for a combination of ferocity as well as contemplation.

One of the greatest strengths of this album is the high amount of musical variability in each track. There is not a moment where each song sounds like it’s going to drain you, or bore you with the same measure. Little nuances are put into place such as foley or even infusions within other genres to really keep you brain hooked, and it also helps to paint a more holistic picture of the stories behind each songs. There are immersive and competent solos, such as the iconic solo within the track ‘Relic’, accentuated with a fascinating change in time signature and percussive elements.

When The Juan Solo 7 does not deliver a fascinating edge in improvisation, they do deliver with a latent nostalgia lurking behind the chord structure and delivery of some of their tracks. If it doesn’t fascinate you, it will engage you with deep emotions that I think is pretty hard to deny. One thing that I cannot stand in newer rock acts is when they do not develop the ‘feel’ of their sound, severely affecting their potential to score in terms of musical universality. In this case, this album passes the test, being full of understandable emotion that I think most people would be able to either relate to or sympathize with.

The inclusion of the track ‘Dissolve’ also acts as a genius move in terms of keeping things exciting, employing a more traditional grunge sound that almost reminds me of the song ‘Bruise Violet’, without losing the dynamic edge that keeps this act unique. From an instrumentation perspective, this album is really quite competent. None of the instruments used within any of the tracks sound inferior, badly done or half-assed.

The vocal aspect of the album is also quite interesting to me, as it sounds like it has been stylistically mastered with a filter. This feature gives the whole album a bit of mystique and futurism, in the midst of already ‘futurising’ the tracks with the addition of quirks from the synthesizer. I totally understand the artistic choice, but in certain tracks the ‘watery’ness of the vocals come out even with the added intent. Otherwise, I think it’s a great choice and generally matches the tone and the feel of the album, reminding me of German industrial rock acts.

Overall, I think ‘Persona’ is quite a great album. It possesses all the hallmarks of a competent album, with the potential to resonate with its intended audience, and perhaps even beyond. A wonderfully dark and technical blend of emotion and intent merged into a distinct soundscape that’s frankly hard to ignore.

SCORE/Excellent – The Juan Solo 7 delivers on an album that definitely reimagines 90s rock influences with a more modern twist on it, almost rehashing certain niche synth-rock fusion acts from the mid 2000s. It is full of musical variability, and an edginess that definitely aids in its aesthetic.

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