Jamie and the Guarded Heart - Funeral Song (2022)

It’s hard to overstate just how important an influence Springsteen has on just about any band from New Jersey and Philly. You can hear Bruce’s character-driven, emotional, blue-collar rock in everyone from Jersey’s Gaslight Anthem to Philly-based Dave Hause. It should come as no surprise, then, that the suburban Philly duo that make up Jamie And The Guarded Heart have more than a little bit of a Springsteen vibe on Funeral Song, their second LP, an impossible to resist blend of pop punk and unpretentious bar room rock.

Comprised of Jamie Salvatore and Morgan Russo, the record follows up All The Songs, an online release of 16 tracks the band recorded between 2017 and 2020 that was … well, pretty much all of their songs up to that point.

In contrast, Funeral Song was written in the middle of the pandemic, so there are naturally more than a few songs about isolation and uncertainty. “Black Dresses,” the powerful album opener, is a stellar intro to what follows with the band singing desperately about loss. Elsewhere, they sing about losing love, taking drugs, nostalgia, and trying to make sense of how we ended up where we are.

Across 10 tracks, the band keep the energy and passion up the entire time, all the while churning out songs populated by specific characters, but also manage to have a strong relatability. And while there are obvious nods to punk and even classic rock, the two don’t have too much allegiance to one specific genre, making for a remarkably accessible sound.

“We’ve put everything we got into this album, says the duo. “All our time, our money and our hearts. One thing we’ve been fortunate with is that the people have been there for us … even when it seems like the music industry doesn’t care,” says Salvatore said recently. “We feel that is because we’re just a couple of kids from a town like theirs, out there for a fist fight, trying to make their mark on a business that probably doesn’t care about them. But we care. And we care about the people who connect to this thing. We’re playing for legacy, and we won’t let them down. This record is who we are. Listen to it. We hope it speaks for itself.”