After a two year hiatus, North Carolina’s Far Too Jones return with their third album Shame and Her Sister. The album itself had been ready for some time now, yet disputes with their former label Mammoth led to its delay. Leaving Mammoth, FTJ released the album on their own label Aszams Records, where they had also released their first album.

In addition to a label change, the band has changed its sound a bit as well. Opting for a more harder sound than their 1999 release Picture Postcard Walls, the band rocks out on such tracks as “Put Me On Your Mix Tape,” “Nervous (Why Am I Shaking?)” and the first single, the power pop inflected “Julianna,” which probably describes more than one girl we guys know. The group experiments with turn tables on “Blown Away” and the aforementioned “Nervous”. The band also dabbles with studio production on “Alien Playground” (just check out the trippy vocals if you don’t believe me).

Not to say that FTJ has totally forsaken the jangly sound that was a hallmark of earlier releases. Tracks like “Trip Through You” and the seven minute-plus “Ballad of Mary” wouldn’t have been too out of place on Picture Postcard Walls. This album displays a consistency, a vibe, much like its predecessor. The only exception to this is an interesting inclusion, the final track, a re-worked version of “Close to You,” a power ballad found on Picture Postcard Walls. Heavier on the guitars than the original, it sounds somewhat out of place.

With this new album, Far Too Jones demonstrates one of the hallmarks of a great band: the willingness not to rest on their laurels, the desire to experiment and try new sounds, and the drive to push on in the face of adversity. Fans waited a long time for a new album, and Shame and Her Sister richly awards their patience.