August 12, 2009

Album review: Pissed Jeans - 'King Of Jeans'

Masters of punky Pennsylvania noise strike again

8 / 10 If all albums came with a handy listening guide from their creators, ‘King Of Jeans’ would read thusly: “Hi y’all, we’re Pissed Jeans and we’d like to confront you with the inanity of your everyday existence. We ask you to please sit still while we bludgeon you into a coma with guitars that crunch like skulls under the wheels of Satan’s chariot.”

Built out of the perpetual miseries of the nine-to-five grind, this Pennsylvania four-piece has learned to find joy in the seemingly banal (‘R-Rated Movie’), while poking a gnarled finger at the eyes of unlucky chumps that rub them the wrong way (‘Half Idiot’).

What makes it so compelling is the simplicity of concept: like everyone, they get pissed off by jerkish behaviour, subdued by small misfortunes and comfort themselves with life’s small pleasures.

Faced with premature baldness on the hilarious ‘Goodbye (Hair)’, frontman Matt Korvette pines, “when it’s time to say goodbye/i’ll say it with a frown”. Oh, and any passing resemblance to early grunge monsters Tad or sinewy punk lords The Jesus Lizard is entirely forgiven on grounds that they’re both 100 per cent awesome.

Tom Edwards

Click here to get your copy of Pissed Jeans' 'King Of Jeans' from the Rough Trade shop.