When I was listening to this track in the giant ball pit where all the Start-Track writers go to hang out and hear fresh tunes, I commented to Filip, “You know, Wealthy Jane kind of sounds like a cross between Fall Out Boy and Weezer.” But after a few extra listens, their latest single “Judy Wept” more closely aligns with Algernon Cadwallader, American Football, and Stay Inside. Still, to share space with any of those bands is pretty sweet.
The other sweet thing about Wealthy Jane’s debut single – besides the fact that it slaps for the New York band’s very first release – is the meaning behind it, which kicked me in the teeth with anguish once I realized what it was about. The song’s lyricist, Tony Bucci, wrote the track for his grandmother Judy, who was suffering from a type of vascular dementia and was fearing what was to come. Bucci details Judy’s story more on Instagram, but the song’s lyrics detail the finer points of her life, telling her that she’s lived a good one and no matter what comes afterward, “it’s okay.”
The Fall Out Boy comparisons come at the end of the song, when the band plows into a jam on the line “Take off your gold cross when no one’s around” in various vocal octaves. Paired with the chorus and the introduction of a piano, it makes for a gut-wrenching close to an emotional track. Trust me when I tell you, I nearly cried. And maybe I was a little bit overtired, but I don’t know anyone who doesn’t choke up when someone sings a song about their aging grandmother.
So yes, there I was, crying in the ball pit while jamming out to “Judy Wept”. It was very cathartic. I highly recommend it.
Wealthy Jane is Tony Bucci, Kim Bucci, Tom Stephens, and Kris Wildermuth. You can watch the music video for “Judy Wept” below, as well as follow the band on their socials to keep up with future releases.
Written by Will Sisskind
