ALBUM OF THE WEEK

Pissed Jeans 'Hope For Men' 2007,Sub Pop

Unlike many of my peers, the whole idea of a great 'noise rock' or 'post hardcore' band doesn't really get my thing. Pissed Jeans rules though. They're somewhere in between those dumb ass named styles, I mean whatever I definitely bang lots of records that could fall into those sub groups but its not too often that I seek them out. So when it comes to noise rock today, I feel like bands are just trying to out-do each other about who can best emulate Scratch Acid and The Jesus Lizard and Flipper, that shit is uninteresting and whatever to me, and like I know I am wrong about that but I am just closeminded and shit. Really I would rather hear bands doing that to Black Sabbath or some Japanese hardcore. But alas, Pissed Jeans is the ill noise rock though. I am not really talking about them when I said the thing about Scratch Acid and copying shit we've already heard. This is a very heavy record and it does this by being dirty, twangy, and reverb drenched and panic, wear a straightjacket type shit. Sort of like late Black Flag and messy grimey hardcore like that, just nasty shit that sounds thick. Pissed Jeans is from Pennsylvania. This is not noise rock or whatever you want to call it, that does not rock and is just noisy. These guys really smash shit. The singer sounds all weird and like an insane person and the whole style is just raw as fuck. I really do like the singers whole thing, the words are great, they remind me of the songs that are made up about nothing but they end up being all creepy and dark. And making weird noises with your voice is rad and we all do that when we are alone. He has great presence. There are 10 songs here and the drums wreck it apart because the guitar and bass are mixed once again all raw like, so the drums and the vocals wrap the whole thing up. The album, as an album, is fantastic. Its their sophomore joint and it is better to me than their 2005 debut 'Shallow,' it seems like they got the whole vision and sound right where they wanted it on this one. Right before this LP dropped, they released the 'I Don't Need Smoke To Make Myself Disappear' 7" and it really killed so there definitely was hype for the new one. When I first listened to it I was like ok, but then I listened to it more and more while drawing up in the studio and then I couldn't wait to get that shit on wax cause by then it had grown on me and I was all about it. It is awesome when that happens. And Pissed Jeans is a dope band name obviously. They've got humor but aren't fucking around, its maniacal and sarcastic. On that same note, and I've got to mention this- is that the album looks weird, and I am not really feeling it, even after banging the record a lot of times. It is white and has pictures of them hugging each other. I mean thats cool but like, is it really that cool enough to put on the front and back covers of the LP? Maybe it is, maybe I don't get it, and it could be worse, after all we all like hugs. Anyways Pissed Jeans are an ill noise rock band, they're my favorite noise rock band actually, now that I think about it. They rip, this LP rips. And now that I think about it part two, it is kind of cool that the cover weirds me out because the songs are also confrontational and strange in that same way. Uungh.