Sometimes, you may stumble across something that is so indescribable that you cannot help but sit back in awe of its anomalousness. In a time when there’s little shock value left to be garnered, to be floored by something so peculiar is a grand achievement. Accepting this challenge are Raleigh, North Carolina-based indie rock band Juniper Avenue. Raising the bar for hyperactive rock songs, “Bumfuzzle” is a curiosity that will surely leave you dumbstruck.
Straight out of the box, “Bumfuzzle” is the real deal of raucous, untameable rock. No need for an unfulfilling appetizer to tide you over, you are served up the whole frenetic platter from the moment you’re ready to dig in. In addition, a dollop of breakneck swagger from lead singer Luke Baker is what ties together all of the manic melodies into one off the rails composition.
If you’re easily worn out by anything above a dull roar, this song is not for you. What makes “Bumfuzzle” unique is that it’s designed to be jarring from beginning to end. It’s not sheepishly waiting around to muster enough courage to ask you to dance. It takes you back by the hand and spins you around like you’re on a Tilt-A-Whirl that’s going Mach 10. As you hear the chattering of the loosening nuts and bolts of this ride, in the form of rambling piano bits, you’ve hit a sensory overload that renders your own state of consciousness inert.
Bumfuzzle is defined as to confuse or perplex. Rarely has a song title ever lined up so well with the work itself. Juniper Avenue has embodied that turn of phrase through a beguiling spark of insanity.
Written by Travis Boyer
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