Pissed Jeans

Why Love Now

Written by: PP on 04/11/2017 17:48:25

"Why Love Now" is the fifth album by the Allentown, PA-based Pissed Jeans, who have basically made a career out of writing difficult to enjoy, repulsive-sounding post-punk albums that carry that pretentious hipster punk sound that usually indicates a fan base of people calling themselves punks who've never listened to Bad Religion or NOFX. You know, the usual hipsters who follow trends and the like. Their albums have been either trashed or received critical acclaim entirely depending on the nature of the magazine looking at them, where the Pitchfork types praise them as the second coming of Jesus while many of the rest of us think, well, if the singer would spend a moment singing maybe something great could come out of it.

"Why Love Now" therefore falls into the artsy world of post-punk that's a love/hate syndrome for most people. The vocals are absolutely horrific howls that from the get-go make the album a repulsive listen, but given enough listens and appreciating that they're an acquired tasted, their ugly nature does lend itself for some interesting contrasts between melody and non-melody. "The Bar Is Low" is the first such example with its underlying melody that comes across well halfway through the messy song, but it is on "Love Without Emotion" where the band strikes a perfect balance between the disturbing howling and a fantastically groovy underlying melody. Likewise, "Cold Whip Cream" is as angry and abrasive as it is ferocious and hardcore-driven, where the band drop the pretentious sound for a moment and whip out a funky piece of hardcore punk for the listeners.

Sadly, the band completely loses listeners like me on "I'm A Man", which equates to the PC fourth-wave feminism slash I'm offended by absolutely everything culture that essentially was partially responsible for getting Donald Trump elected. We see your point but it's essentially shoved down your throat so hard you feel the gag-reflex coming from a mile away.

The rest of the album mostly follows along the same lines as the other tracks, though: unmelodious, repulsive vocals and post-punk instrumentation that creates a chaotic, uncontrollable soundscape that's just not very pleasant overall. It's as if the band are more concerned about how to make you hate their music than to like it. For some, that's a bonus, but for the undersigned, it'll always push me away from punk bands like these guys, Savages, iceage, etc.

6

Download: Love Without Emotion, Cold Whip Cream,
For the fans of: Black Flag, The Jesus Lizard, Flipper, Savages,
Listen: Facebook

Release date 24.02.2017
Sub Pop

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