"I'd like to trade you for a new partner / You're not a failure, you're just not perfect", croons Jonny Pape in "Gray & Eye". Well, who can't relate to such lovelorn lyrics, really? Either you've said it or you've heard it; it reminds me of a boyfriend from the grey mists of my stupidity cupidity period -- and nearly everyone has had one of those, too.

A combination of Blonde Redhead, the Sex Pistols, early twenties angst and Sonic Youth, plus the some of the better bass playing I've heard in a while (and the best bass in the "self-produced" category), the Jupiter Project serves up a range of styles that, although stunning in their breadth and talent, would perhaps be better if coalesced into a single smooth presentation. We Fight Crime sounds like the band is still deciding who they're going to be, although their website says they're working on a single vision. That criticism doesn't mean that you can't enjoy the Project, even as they use We Fight Crime as an opportunity to try on a variety of musical hats. They're hard-rocking with drums and bass in "Seven Hours, Seven Days", their oh-so punky darkest vision; in "Gray & Eye" they're slower, even mournful, and vocalist Pape sounds like he's singing with one lip curled up over a bared canine, a cross between Billy Idol and Michael Stipe in terms of seriousness, introspection and plain old bad-boy attitude.

This CD is available free from the group's website, so the price is definitely right. Hopefully they'll press their new style into service -- and a full-length album -- soon.