Pissed Jeans

Honeys

Written by: PP on 27/02/2013 00:19:34

If you can appreciate bands that treat music as a way to vent their frustration at a world that they consider to be a dark, ugly, miserable place, but think sludge and/or black metal are either too heavy or slow, you should take a look at Pissed Jeans. Their fourth album "Honeys" basically represents the most morbid and misanthropic take on hardcore/punk that I've heard in a while, complete with anarchistic vibes and crusty, noise-driven guitars to complete a picture of a big middle finger directed at your face and especially at the world.

If you put together the sounds of Black Flag, The Jesus Lizard, and Flipper, you're fairly close to what Pissed Jeans sound like. It's crusty, aggressive old school hardcore with punk undertones, and an attitude straight from the rebellion days. It's an ugly and disheartening sound, which is more concerned about how to make you hate their music rather than like it. But there is a certain charm to their anti-melody approach, especially given its retro/old school production style, and the occasional pieces of sludge placed in just to throw you off your game. It's a fucked up sound, but yet occasionally like on "Bathroom Laughter", "Romanticize Me", or "Male Gaze", it strikes through as the most unpretentious music you can possibly be listening to. Or maybe it's the opposite? It's starting to be hard to tell the difference between sheer hipsterism and art that comes directly from the heart and soul of the musicians involved in styles like these in 2013. But based on the destructive vocal work, we're definitely in the latter territory when it comes to "Honeys".

But does that make it a good record per se? Not necessarily. Here, Pissed Jeans quite literally piss over all songwriting norms to achieve that 'fuck you' type of a sound. They do succeed on occasion, but we've heard 80s style hardcore played better than this very recently (think OFF!). Despite a couple of solid songs, "Honeys" overall is little better than average.

6

Download: Bathroom Laughter, Romanticize Me, Cathouse
For the fans of: Black Flag, The Jesus Lizard, Flipper
Listen: Facebook

Release date 11.02.2013
Sub Pop

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