Drive Like Jehu - Drive Like Jehu (Album Review)

 

Drive Like Jehu - Drive Like Jehu

(1992)


My copy: 2023 repress on marigold vinyl by Headhunter Records.


Only a few years before Yank Crime would revolutionize the face of post-hardcore from behind the scenes, Drive Like Jehu released their self-titled debut. Coming off of their work with Pitchfork, John Reis and Rick Froberg devised a new album that retained their knack for catchy hooks while stretching the song structures into winding corridors of hard punk riffs. 

Solo guitar tremolo quietly flops about on “Caress,” lulling newcomers before the track viscerally snaps to life through the rhythm section. Froberg’s shouts are more urgent than his previous work; his accusations having bolstered the then young emo movement. While the droning guitars are sharp, the band often relents into major choruses with more accessibility than their future songs. “Spikes To You” keeps things simple with more forward riffing though the drums are ever dynamic and abrasive. They save the more exploitative guitar work for later in the record, instead bouncing rapidly between chords and more traditional melodies. Reis takes vocal lead on “Step On Chameleon” which is just a bit too sweet and melodic for the band’s core sound. While it is intriguing to hear more traditional major choruses, it sounds out of place in context of the album at large. 

The band’s penchant for combining post-hardcore and prog starts with the nearly ten-minute “O Pencil Sharp” which begins and ends with atmospheric string manipulations and feedback. The climatic cymbals lead into lo-fi guitar expanses, with syncopated leads and impressive volume shifts. Everything is very intricately designed here; retaining only the attitude and tones of your typical punk outfit. “Atom Jack” is pure aggression and debuts some of Reis’s more eclectic guitar lines. “If It Kills You” is an absolute stunner, with complex almost meditative bass riffing opening into a maze of explosive tension. The choruses here are nervous and paranoid, growing in anger before being shuttled away into the next movement. This track gives the closest comparison to prog and math-rock through its frequent tempo and time changes, ensuring your attention is never lost for long. 

Prickly guitars tweet away as “Good Luck In Jail” kicks off into the slide-and-bend heavy guitar sounds the band would be better known for on the next record. “Turn It Off” is insanely hooky with some of the craziest drums, but the bombast and vigor is almost too self-indulgent by this point. “Future Home Of Stucco Monstrosity” closes with unique chirping guitars though the track at large never wants to die, reviving into new build ups at each turn. 

Drive Like Jehu’s debut is one filled to the brim with intense punk swagger though it likely confused purists with its vast, prog-minded songwriting. There are times where the band embraces an almost kraut-rock zen in their repetitions, though this wouldn’t fully be explored until their 1994 follow up. The core issue here is that the album is at times overwhelming in its structural ambition, and the examples where the tracks release the tension are often the most exhilarating. This record is also slightly sweeter, with a less cynical tone than the next. Froberg and Reis’s work here combined ideas from many genres to create an absolute monster of a record, and one that certainly shouldn’t be overlooked.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Makes an Album Great

Image
            Great albums should leave lasting impressions, not only on those who listen as non-musicians, but also on the realm of music these albums occupy. In other words, a musical project should seek to leave some distinct mark on it's genre, to lay claim to some form of unique personality; this can often come in many forms, ranging from broad sound choices to subtle production techniques. This method for evaluating music seeks to make complacency the enemy, and forward movement the desired goal. This is not to say that all derivative albums are necessarily bad, as of course, outliers will always exist. Rather, the goal of an artist should, intrinsically, be to leave some reflection of their own condition, regardless of how relatable those emotions may or may not be. In music, this can be achieved in multiple ways, however I will focus on three aspects that I find particularly important when listening to music.      When co...
Read more

Oneohtrix Point Never - Again (Album Review)

Image
  Oneohtrix Point Never - Again (2023) My copy: 2023 limited press on orange transparent vinyl by Warp Records. Having built a strong reputation across a multitude of electronic projects, Daniel Lopatin now cashes in on his modern influence to compile what is likely his most ambitious project yet. Spanning over an hour, Again picks up where 2017’s Garden Of Delete left off, for better and for worse. Even with lush string arrangements and big-name features, Lopatin is unable to prevent Again from falling victim to some serious bloat. Anxiety immediately unravels in the orchestral “Elseware” though this introductory track quickly straightens out into a beguiling arrangement that is unlike any “typical” Oneohtrix track. The ritual “Again” then dives headfirst into Lopatin’s usual world of chittering robots and droning vocal mimicry. Things begin more explorative - descending into the depths of some synthesized hell before fading and restarting. Acoustic flourishes fester alongside...
Read more

Part Chimp - I Am Come (Album Review)

Image
  Part Chimp - I Am Come (2005) My copy: 2005 press by Rock Action Records As the millennium turned, rock music trends began to shift. In the U.S. a band called Lightning Bolt were establishing themselves as forerunners of modern noise-rock by pushing the music in increasingly weird directions. Across the pond, Mclusky were fighting the good fight with the 2002 Albini-produced Do Dallas, that wove dry, intelligent humor in between bursts of electrifying instrumental poundings. But over in London, another set of noise-crazed rockers got their start around the same time.  Part Chimp’s humor is a touch more on the nose; see album title Chart Pimp, or song title “Hitler and Jews” from the same 2002 debut. But directness is just where a band calling themselves “Part Chimp” excels. As rock began softening and going the way of the Strokes real quick, Chart Pimp offered a bastion of sludge-y rock ferocity that mostly suffered from being less able to fully capture the sheer volume ...
Read more