Solid Little Rock Jams

Pissed Jeans - Hope For Men

Man, Shallow was just an instant fucking classic, wasn't it? In 2005, Pissed Jeans made a noise rock album, and goddamn, not only was it really, really noisy, it also somehow managed to be tons 'o fun! Pissed off, drunken Scratch Acid listeners certainly aren't a humorless bunch, but there's at least something mildly threatening about the abrasiveness of a band like Clockcleaner, what with their songs having choruses consisting of "FUCK! BITCH!" and songs about plotting to tie up your friend's girlfriend whom you've been screwing on the side and going to the abortion clinic with and what-have-you.

Pissed Jeans managed to come across as being quite a bit goofier than your stereotypical noise-rock band on their debut album. Over the overwhelmingly noisy guitars, the singer barked out lyrics like a deranged muppet, blasting out his lungs about being "ASHAMED OF MY CUM!!!! NEVER SATISFIED EVEN AFTER I'M DONE!!!!!" and how he "WANT[S] TO KIIIISSSS THOSE BORING GIRLS!!" Sort of like No Trend. You've never heard No Trend, have you. That's what I thought.

Anyways, 'twas a fantastic rock album; just over half an hour long, and with songs that were downright CLEVER and DISTINGUISHABLE FROM ONE ANOTHER DUE TO THE AWESOME RIFFS OR FUNNY VOCALIST THINGS.

Their new album Hope For Men isn't anywhere near as good as their last one. It's basically the same sound, but the album is 40 minutes instead of 32, and there are no shout-along anthems like "Boring Girls" or "Ashamed of My Cum." There are a couple tracks that are quiet and atmospheric (in a STOOPID way) like "The Jogger," which has a funny mention of Whole Foods. But yeah, they didn't really develop their sound at all, and Shallow was an in-the-moment kind of record... they could have done this thing in their sleep, it's just the same old shit without, I don't know, a lot of what made Shallow such a special album! It's not like bands like these are all that focused on churning out conventional "hooks," so when they do manage to come up with some great ones (as on Shallow), whether they're found in an accidentally anthemic chorus or a kickass guitar riff, it really shows off what bands like these are capable of. And I don't know about you, but I happen to like memorable music. As much as I'd like to be a red-blooded, unsubjective badass who "digs anything as long as it brings the RAWK," in reality, I'm not one of those guys. It's why I'll always prefer Goat to Liar. Great songs vs. totally unmericful shit-kicking? I'd love to have both, but if forced to choose, I generally take the former. I talked about this that time I reviewed Playing With Fire, remember? Those were good times, weren't they.

Rating: If you liked their last album and just want more balls-out, Flipper-ish guitar noise insanity, then hey, you might dig this. But it ain't as good as that one! This is Pissed Jeans by numbers, more or less. I'm listening to "Closet Marine" from the first record, and oh, man, what a riff on this thing. Hey, buy the album Shallow by Pissed Jeans, it's awesome. That's all.

Song: "Fantasy World"