4/5 stars
We were all so young. And Jebediah were even younger. Back in the mid-’90s, when Perth darlings Jebediah were winning long before hashtags became a way of life, this writer pondered how this music would age. Given the energy and utter youth of it all, I was unsure how well it would last over the years. And those were young years.
And here we are, some 20 years after it all started, and I couldn’t be happier to say how wrong that theory was. Jebediah have never broken up, but did other things when callings came, and have weathered two decades to emerge upon this year’s 20th anniversary with an air of excitement that rivals the first flash of their extraordinary ride.
This release pieces together 20 tracks from those 20 years, and for many they would be regarded as the soundtrack to growing up. Songs such as ‘Harpoon’, ‘Feet Touch The Ground’, ‘Yesterday When I Was Brave’ and ‘Run Of The Company’ seem to these days reveal the intent and maturity that Kevin Mitchell would go on to show in his solo career as Bob Evans. Meanwhile, songs like ‘Jerks Of Attention’, ‘Fall Down’, ‘Leaving Home’, ‘Military Strongmen’ and ‘Teflon’ are just as fun now as they were then.
Good times for a long time. It’s totally possible.
Jebediah’s Twenty is out now through Sony.
