Pissed Jeans have been a staple band of Sub Pop Records since 2007, yet they feel like a black sheep among the Seattle label’s tidy catalog. They recently released their sixth album “Half Divorced”, which we review below.
Pissed Jeans may not be the most productive band around (the guys all have full-time jobs, hence the rarity of their live shows), but it’s also what allows them to write what they want, when they want, without pressure from anyone or anything. They’re artists. It’s hard to believe that these are the same guys who play in this crazy, anachronistic band destined for commercial failure.
Since their 2005 debut “Shallow”, little or nothing has changed in Pissed Jeans’ music — a contrast barely conceivable with the people they are offstage. “Half Divorced” is a bunch of punk ranting about the human condition, okay, we’ve got it (or we’ve had it). So what makes “Half Divorced” so different?
When was the last time we heard an album that takes the piss out of everything and everyone while giving making us feel like we’re attending a surreal party worthy of “Fear and Loathing in Vegas”? Only Pissed Jeans were capable of such chaotic (self) mockery in a far more humorous way than the best comedians (who are all dead anyway).
Like a punk from a London gutter circa ’77, Matt Korvette’s chants alongside his biting and hilarious lyrics are the ultimate mockery of what it’s like to live the lives of reasonable, alienated, boring adults. Musically, his bandmates are not to be outdone: Bradley Fry and Randy Huth hammer riffs while making your ears bleed, Sean McGuiness shreds his drums like his life depends on it, for a wild result that takes you from moshing to bouncy danceable tunes.
The Pennsylvania quartet delivers the best post-pandemic soundtrack with energy and verve, and shake up the languidity that has taken over in this so-called “after times”. If you’re not afraid to look in the mirror or if you ever want to punch what you see in the face, “Half Divorced” is for you. If not? Stick to your boring routine: I’m out of here, even if everywhere is bad.
Last modified: 29 April 2024
