Jupe Jupe crafts a cinematic blend of melodic post-punk and darkwave atmospherics, where brooding synths and angular guitars collide with crooning baritone vocals and pulse-driven rhythms. Their songs explore the human condition in an age of dissonance—searching for connection and harmony amid modern anxieties. The result is a seductive, shadow-lit soundscape that moves the body as much as it haunts the memory.
Based in Seattle, Jupe Jupe features My Young on vocals and synths, Bryan Manzo on guitar, bass, and saxophone, Patrick Partington on guitar, and Jarrod Arbini on drums and percussion. Veterans of the Seattle and Austin music scenes, the quartet brings a refined sense of craft to their songwriting—balancing emotional weight with melodic urgency.
Since forming, Jupe Jupe has released eight acclaimed albums and EPs, including Invaders, Reduction in Drag, Crooked Kisses, Lonely Creatures, Nightfall, Midnight Waits for No One, and King of Sorrows. Their remix album Cut Up Kisses features collaborations with notable producers and artists such as Lusine, Rick G. Nelson (The Afghan Whigs), Mike Simonetti, and Erik Blood.
Jupe Jupe’s music has resonated across college and alternative radio, with Lonely Creatures landing in the Top 30 Most-Added albums during its first week, and holding a spot in the NACC Top 200 for a month. Crooked Kisses and Reduction in Drag both charted on the CMJ Top 200, while their single “Pieces of You” was featured on the CMJ March 2014 Mixtape. The band has also received support from KEXP with multiple podcast features and regional airplay.
Jupe Jupe has shared bills with The Ocean Blue, ACTORS, LEATHERS, We Are Scientists, The Alarm, Yelle, The Pipettes, and Penguin Prison, among others. They performed at the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, appeared as featured artists on two episodes of the TV series Band in Seattle, and brought their dark, dynamic live set to the 2024 and 2025 Seattle Seagaze festivals. Dedicated to community as well as craft, the band has also contributed performances to numerous benefit events supporting organizations such as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and Teen Feed.
With a growing catalog of evocative, pulse-driven songs and a reputation for immersive live performances, Jupe Jupe continues to carve their own path through the modern darkwave and post-punk landscape.
Reviews
“[A]nyone with even a passive appreciation for expertly applied, fluid synth riffs, drama-filled vocals, infectious pop choruses, and deft dance-rock grooves will be able to ease right in … ”
ALLMUSIC
“Dark, hook-filled post punk with atmospheric synths, moody guitars, mournful sax, driving rhythms and melancholy melodies.”
KEXP
“Clearly, Jupe Jupe has honed its sound, and the end result is an enjoyable blend of the Strokes, Simple Minds and Duran Duran, with a slight hint of ‘70s prog.”
POPMATTERS
“Mining the new wave sound is nothing new, but the bands that make it work—Interpol, A Projection and now Jupe Jupe—make it feel instantly familiar and yet totally fresh and modern.”
POPDOSE
“There are sounds colored by breaths of Depeche Mode, Gary Numan and OMD, and even some quick little winks and grins towards Haircut 100 and early Cure. But these are jumping off points. Sonic references to further the genre and push it into the future. A future that is danceable, joyous, and stained with beautiful melancholy.”
BIG TAKEOVER
“From opener ‘Faith in What You Hear’
I was grabbed: a new wave sound that audaciously double-jumps back to the Alan Parsons Project. I fell in love with this album [Lonely Creatures]: it just gets everything right.”
PANSENTIENT LEAGUE
“We accidentally caught a Jupe Jupe live performance down in Austin during South-By-Southwest. The memory, hazy by design and fuzzy by alcohol, stands out in a sea of bands that week.”
VANYALAND
“Coolly campy, exquisitely wrought electro-pop.”
THE STRANGER