Jellyfish - Joining A Fan Club

Jellyfish - they’re not exactly rock and roll animals, are they? Glorified carrier bags of the ocean that can sting you for no reason – they feel a bit like a joke animal, one that a higher power was dared to make rather than using their day on something useful. Terrible creature, 0/10. I’ve gotten mildly distracted here, haven’t I.

Thankfully, there are some good jellyfish around; the ones who play a mean power-pop. Formed in 1989 in San Fransisco, Jellyfish played an all over the place mix of classic rock, pop and prog that gelled together into what music critics call “properly nice songs”. They only released two albums in a fairly trim six-year career and, while 1990’s debut Bellybutton had its moments, it was 1993’s Spilt Milk that got things rolling for the band. Unfortunately, there were a myriad of reasons as to why the band broke up – if you listen to the records closely enough, you can practically hear when either songwriter is grinding their teeth at having to do something they didn’t want to do. But we still have two albums full of great tracks to enjoy as their legacy – and Spilt Milk is highly recommended by bands who were inspired by it even to this day. No-one has ever been inspired by a real jellyfish; I can tell you that much.

 
So in honour of the madly creative, strangely beautiful stuff they put out, Joining A Fan Club gets to sit proudly on the Rock Song of the Week podium this time around. Yes, they’re just mashing together Queen and The Beatles in a lot of places. But when it sounds this nice? I’m willing to give Jellyfish a pass. Not real jellyfish, though. They’re horrible animals. If I was 99% water and didn’t have a face, I just wouldn’t bother existing out of common courtesy. I’ll shut up about the jellyfish now.