East Coast Star on the Rise Jer Coons

Jer Coons is a 20-year-old singer/songwriter who pens straightforward, satisfying pop of the teen-crush inducing variety. His songs speak of lessons and heartbreak and girls, his voice smooth and inoffensive with a very mild tang that helps to deliver the lovesick, sweetheart persona.

The compositions won’t be breaking any boundaries or blowing any minds, but they do achieve that pleasing catchiness that makes it easy to nod the head and wait for the enjoyable payoffs. Coons’ vocals and strums are accompanied by guitar, bass, and drums that create a young rock vibe, bringing rhythms and solos that lift the tunes from pure bedroom sap.

Coons also brings a playful feel to his work through ever-grinning photos and a generally silly tone on his website and press materials. He’s admitting his youth, but this behooves him with its insistence on casual enjoyment and relaxed abandonment to pop. His cover of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” nicely sets the tone, in that the song itself is inarguably pleasing; listeners are then ready for the presentation of his singing style and general boy-and-his-guitar-ness.

Tracks like “Legs” and “Boxing the Cold” bring guitar pop if that genre ever existed, and it’s soon clear that Coons can write himself a melody. In the end, he comes off as a good pop guarantee — he does soft but not too sappy, rockin’ but not too loud. He’ll make your head bop shamelessly unless the cheese factor makes you puke first. -Review by Knocks From the Underground.

“Jer hit the ground running in 2009, with an impressive batch of new songs earning him comparisons to a younger John Mayer, or an older Nick Jonas (the talented Jonas Brother) and everything else in between. Jer and his live performances are better than virtually all singer songwriters for several reasons:

He does not shop at Urban Outfitters trying to buy trendy things in an attempt to look ten years younger, because if he did look ten years younger, he would look like a ten year old

His backing band is better than the tapes Milli Vanilli used

He won most musical in his high school year book

And boy, can this kid write a pop song.

Armed with drop dead catchy melodies, boyish good looks and a charm equal to or greater than Paris Hilton, Jer is poised for national recognition during the coming year. In the meantime, look for Jer Coons on a crowded street near you. His debut LP “Speak” drops September 29th and you can hear his song “Legs” playing in all Hollister stores.”

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