Glass Fish

LP version. Here's a tasty treat for all fans of DIY pop music: a multinational confection, the perfect blend of sweet and smart. Based around core members Matt Jones, originally from Western Massachusetts, and Busan native Jee Eun Lim, who met in Korea in 2011, the Jee Jee Band fuses simple pop structures, airy instrumentation, and breathy vocals with clever lyrics, in both Korean and English, often of a satirical or political nature. Based in Northern California, the band quietly celebrates Korean culture while also evidencing a cosmopolitan classic pop sensibility, blending K-pop and other Asian pop elements with a classic and yet contemporary US/UK pop feel. The songs on Glass Fish, all very fresh-sounding, feature performers from South Korea, America, and, on one song, the Khmer-language vocals of Cambodian filmmaker Vanntey Morn. Jones's Western Massachusetts pop roots allowed him to enlist the skills of former members of Sunburned, Sebadoh, and others to help record this charming and refreshing release, sure to appeal to fans of K Records, DIY sounds, and pure pop. Liner notes by Byron Coley.