Indianapolis band Jookabox has decided to throw in the towel, and The Eyes of the Flyis their last cryptic transmission via Asthmatic Kitty on April 26. This recording is the final chapter in the history of a band as bizarre, anxious, and confusing as the music it makes.

They are a band we’ve always had a soft spot for. A band whose imagery echoes ghosts, zombies, decay, and the afterlife, now writes its own epitaph, carves its own headstone, and sings its swan song.

The group began as Grampall Jookabox, a side project that made warped, lo-fi, folk-tinged recordings in a basement for fun. Indianapolis label Joyful Noise Recordings released their debut Scientific Cricket in 2007. Asthmatic Kitty got involved on the sophmore release, the beat and sample oriented Ropechain in 2008, which can be oversimplified as being about ghosts and Michael Jackson. After a haunting vision during a promotional tour of Europe for Ropechain, the “Grampall” was dropped from their name.

2009s Dead Zone Boys, the first release under this streamlined name, is about zombies and the landscape of middle-American urban sprawl. The zombie part came easy: founder Moose grew up on the east side of Indianapolis in the 90s, an area plauged by constant recession, pandemic homicide, and racial tension. A few strong tribes chose to stay in the area despite constant warnings from fleeing acquaintances. It was this frantic energy and violence that infused itself into the Jookabox experience.

Jookabox’s fourth and final installment is about humans, worms, slime, and rotting flesh. Humans as gross animals, oily and greasy. Worms writhing underground. Slime oozing and revealing true nature of things. You might say there’s a Kafkaesque vibe to The Eyes Of The Fly; disorientating with a sense of danger. Pitch-shifting, weird tuning, droning delay, pop-schizo eclecticism: all of Jookabox’s characteristic ingredients are there with an added dose of darkness.

We will miss them!

Download Jookabox – Drops mp3 (from The Eyes Of The Fly)