Jupiter Styles - "Ultra St. Opera"
Jupiter Styles is the project of Chicago-based singer-songwriter Sean Neumann. The band's sophomore release “Ultra St. Opera” comes out October 25, via a self-released tape, vinyl release on Rat King Records (Champaign, IL) and a Japanese-exclusive CD release with Friend of Mine Records (Tokyo, Japan). The album -- “Ultra St. Opera” -- was recorded with Adam Beck (Sincere Engineer, Into It. Over It.) at Type One Studios in Chicago, Illinois and features members of fellow Illinois bands Ratboys, Pet Symmetry, Nectar, What Gives, and more.
The 14 new songs from Jupiter Styles’ focus bluntly on the human relationship with loss -- through death, time, and a fading memory in a world that moves rapidly around us. Driven by self-reflection, Neumann’s straight-forward, emotionally confrontational, and at times sharply direct lyricism paint the album with tough conversations that often go unspoken. Neumann explores the way we handle death on tracks like "Supermodel" and "Now I'm Here," opens up about a growing disconnect with religion on songs like "Figure in the Sky" and "My Life As a Hacker" and laments the frightening feeling of no longer recognizing yourself and your surroundings on tracks like "Haunted" and "Shoulder." On “Ultra St. Opera,” Neumann questions how we process our emotions, or lack thereof, as we’re ushered along in a whirl-winded modern world that asks us to keep moving faster and forget quicker. Layers of guitars rake across the catchy album to blend the sound of 90s pop bands like Semisonic and Sugar Ray with the dark intimacy of groups like Neutral Milk Hotel and Sun Kil Moon.
Jupiter Styles frontman Sean Neumann (who also plays bass and sings in Chicago-based post-country band Ratboys) is a familiar face in the Midwest DIY scene, previously playing guitar in Champaign-based bands Nectar, Easter, and Single Player and touring extensively throughout the world since 2012 while working from the road as a freelance journalist (The New York Times, Rolling Stone, ESPN, NPR, the Associated Press, and more). Neumann has survived by DIY, self-booking his band's shows all over the world since he was a teenager -- from small towns like Galesburg, IL to punk meccas like Tokyo, Japan -- while self-releasing records, zines, tapes, podcasts, and local art websites by himself or with friends. Throughout his career, the 25-year-old artist has played everywhere from basements and barber shops to clubs and parking lots, making new friends and sharing in life through music with people across the world.