Vincent Kircher, Austin Dutmer, Andrew Harris and Ryan Adams are a somewhat sneaky, rarely sleazy group of guys from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Together, they are Jaill, a self-described psych-pop combo who play with undeniable guts. Jaill rocks enough to let the guys feel tough and still make the girls shake their asses till there’s sweat on their ankles. They’ll make your heart shake its ass a little, too.

Long-time friends and musical partners, Kircher and Dutmer started the band back in 2002. It was a continuation of what they’d already been busy at for years: try some speed, smoke some weed, and record albums and albums worth of material destined only for the collections of friends. Dutmer remembers working on an album in Kircher’s spare bedroom for months. “It’s listed as ‘sold out’ on our website but we only made like 25 burned CDs and gave them away.”

The two had struck on a winning formula: up-tempo, guitar-driven twang-twee with punk attitude courtesy of Kircher’s deeply wry lyrics, disarmingly cheerful at surface level. But, dive into the lyrics and things get weird. Jaill hooks the ears with insistent, upbeat pop and twanged-up garage elements which grow deliciously darker with further investigation. It’s confusion in a major key. The band went through several lineups trying to bring the recordings to the stage. Bassist Andrew Harris recalls feeling nervous about being Jaill’s fourth bass player, but Kircher clarifies: “It’s like eating a box of chocolates with cavities in every tooth. You’re gonna spit every one out until you find the perfect one. Then you’ll just deal with the pain.” The 2006 addition of Harris was the perfect complement to Dutmer’s Animal-esque drumming, and with his walking bass and deep-knee bends, the band’s backbone was formed, solid and bold.

In early 2009, the band released There’s No Sky (Oh My My), a 12-song LP (at just over 30 minutes) that is irresistibly catchy, moving, dirty, sarcastic, and new. “We felt a real love for the album when it was finished. So, as best we could, we decided to promote it, tour behind it, send it off to labels and radio stations, bloggers… see what might happen, if anything,” explains Kircher. Recorded nervously in the leaky basement of an old funeral home, with overdubs finished over a year’s time at home, There’s No Sky caught the attention of Sub Pop, with stand-out tracks like “Always Wrong” and “Beggar Sincere.” Recalling the glory of ’90s lo-fi pop, these songs possess a sinewy tension honed from years of basement shows and a palpable, gritty rock sense born of enduring the cold, cold Midwest winter months, day in and day out.

During the touring behind There’s No Sky, guitarist and habitual sleeper/flirter Ryan Adams joined the band. A guest performer on the record, he was ready to learn the songs on the fly, and become the most nicknamed, beaten-down little brother of a band member to date. Adams’ solid guitar work complements Kircher’s sloppy, almost out of control approach and, added bonus: his gift at singing harmonies was immediately appreciated by all. On an October 2009 trip out to the west coast, Sub Pop representatives were in attendance at a Monday night show in Seattle. Familiar with There’s No Sky and on the prowl for fresh meat, they invited the band to the office in the morning. The band brought donuts, Sub Pop countered with pizza. By Thanksgiving, Jaill was signed to the label.

While Jaill’s new album, That’s How We Burn, arrives on July 27, 2010 bearing the proud endorsement of their new label home, the Milwaukee band has changed little in their creative tactics. Recorded at his Mystery Room studio with Justin Perkins, the album finds Jaill wrapping its head and arms more solidly around a sound they’ve been building up for nearly a decade. Their ‘Sconnie sensibilities lend to a laid-back but creatively effortless brand of pop that is now making waves outside the environs of Lake Michigan. Their work ethic and energy in the studio spill into these new songs; bright guitars and amped-up pop energy skipping like a stone over Kircher’s dense lyrics, only to sink into momentary mellow moments. Speeding up, then slowing down, always riding along nicely on its own natural momentum, That’s How We Burn is sure to make the girls freak, the guys geek, and all the lovers weak in the knees.