Geneva Jacuzzi- Triple Fire (Album Review)

Geneva Jacuzzi’s had an interesting trajectory since first releasing music in the mid-2000’s, as her recorded output often emphasized very lo-fi and weirder takes on synthpop, new wave, and other electronic styles while live performances often took on a wild performance art feel.  There have been plenty of hand-released demos and other limited releases, but the two main albums in Geneva Jacuzzi’s discography, Lamaze and Technophelia have both covered a lot of ground that retain an outsider and experimental feel while also providing genuinely catchy ideas.  On album number three, the appropriately named Triple Fire, some pretty massive shifts have been made in the eight years between releases.  The lo-fi sound is largely gone in favor of more stylized and polished synthpop, darkwave, and new wave that are a bit closer to their inspirations than before, but the sense of experimentation and broad range of styles remain.  There are a few slight missteps, but the bulk of the material is engaging with the way it balances bigger pop hooks with darker melodies.

Opener “Laps of Luxury” makes it clear that Triple Fire is going to be a very different listen for those that have heard some of Geneva Jacuzzi’s back catalog.  The synthesizer still drives the songwriting and a lot of the influences from before are prominent, but the sound is much fuller and polished from the beginning.  The melodies have a darker and eerier feel to them but the beats and sound retain that pop aesthetic to them and there are some instant hooks.  But as you make your way further into Triple Fire it becomes clear that Geneva Jacuzzi hasn’t lost the variety and experimentation even if the production values have received a huge boost.  Early on this comes in the form of more apocalyptic and slightly abrasive electronic sounds on songs like “Art Is Dangerous” and “Speed of Light” along dreamier synthpop like “Dry”.  On “Nu2U” the way the beats ebb and flow give off a similar stylistic feel as Adult. and the types of influences that group was pulling from, as its danceable but also a little quirky.  This back and forth between the almost sickly-sweet pop and darker, abrasive edges gives the album a bit more depth than the average modern synthpop album and makes for some unexpected transitions that generally work.  “Speed of Light” in particular brings in some drearier guitars and even sounds a bit goth rock at points, which added to the appeal for me.  It’s hard to think of another artist that reminds me of something between Pet Shop Boys and Madonna one minute and industrial rock the next, but that’s the vibe Geneva Jacuzzi nails throughout Triple Fire.  Admittedly there are some sections that didn’t quite click, primarily on the second half.  “Rock and a Hard Place” opts for this interplay between sparser beats and sudden bursts of almost hip-hop sounding beats along with noisier synths, but the way everything comes together feels messy and the ideas don’t quite hit the mark.  Closer “Yo-Yo Boy” also goes for a more surreal and almost public access television sound, but it feels like its hinting at more and ends before it truly peaks.  Thankfully most of what Triple Fire has to offer has plenty of staying power though, ensuring a few blips don’t derail the entire experience.

The vocals on Lamaze and Technophelia were arguably one of the weirder elements of Geneva Jacuzzi’s music, and when combined that with the out there lyrical focuses cemented some of its outsider pop status.  This element of the music has also gone through significant transformation, as not only is the singing much more prominent but it’s a little less out there.  Opener “Laps of Luxury” has a dreamlike quality to it where the vocals seem to hover over the recording, and the back-up vocals give this a very 80s duet vibe.  But then you transition over to “Art is Dangerous” where very sharp spoken word is traded off with much softer singing and things immediately feel different.  Geneva Jacuzzi adapts her vocal approach to whatever the synths are doing each song, sometimes offering a more direct and deadpan style while other moments go for more ethereal or just straight-up sultry pop hooks.  There’s once again a lot of ground covered, and it all comes together wonderfully.

Not all the weirdness has been left behind on album number three, but Geneva Jacuzzi is exploring very different things on this effort.  It’s a pretty significant transformation from the bedroom pop and lo-fi aesthetic of past works, but there’s still some quirkiness in the way that different electronic genres collide on these tracks and I can’t think of too many other recent albums that go from moody and apocalyptic to sickly sweet synthpop in a manner of minutes.  A few of the ideas don’t quite stick the landing, but I appreciate the attempts to experiment and those that do hit the mark give many reasons to come back.  Hopefully it won’t take another eight years to hear where Geneva Jacuzzi goes next, as it’ll be exciting to see where the almighty synth takes her next.  Triple Fire is available from Dais Records.

-Review by Chris Dahlberg