Pissed Jeans - Half Divorced

Elsewhere, Pissed Jeans draw straight from the hardcore punk playbook as screeching reverb plays the foil to Matt Korvette’s barrelling provocations on ‘(Stolen) Catalytic Convertor’, howling riffs ricochet against contorted, spat-through vitriol on ‘Alive With Hate’ and ‘Junktime’ serves up a kamikaze of guttural noise and scuzzy, incessant instrumentals. Veering from the personal (‘Sixty-Two Thousand Dollars in Debt’) to the politically-charged (‘Everywhere Is Bad’), ‘Half Divorced’ is the sound of a band at boiling point, with their whiplash wit and unbridled ferocity slicing through the tensions that permeate marriage, parenthood, failed relationships and the treachery of contemporary society. But, for all its butane-fuelled brutality, the band manage to find slightly less tumultuous ground by the time closing anthem ‘Moving On’ has whipped around. The record’s most - or, really, its only - upbeat offering, the track sees melodic guitar lines and shiny pop-punk stylings chug toward a heady singalong chorus that feels a lot like being jostled by sweaty strangers on a rowdy night at a karaoke bar. The feeling of finding collective and community amongst the chaos is inescapable and, despite the eternal hellscape we find ourselves living in, it seems Pissed Jeans are hell-bent on providing just that.

Tags: Album Reviews, Reviews, Pissed Jeans, Sub Pop