Andrew Jackson Jihad are one of the most under-appreciated bands of the 21st century.
Quite the opening statement you might say, but I struggle to find another band to have begun in the last 10 years or so that have established their sound so brilliantly. While there is obvious influence from Neutral Milk Hotel, The Mountain Goats and Violent Femmes, their sound is still instantly recognizable. Musically, you can expect folk integrated with catchy bubblegum punk. In sound, they may not sound too spiteful or bitter, but this element of their music comes through in the lyrics. Exploring themes of self-hate, self-obsession, suicide, death, isolation, pain and misery, you might not think their lyrics will stand out too much when we have bands like Converge or Vision Of Disorder. However, Andrew Jackson Jihad approached these topics in a very different way. They put a comedic and light-hearted twist on such topics as disability, racism and social issues (refreshing to say the least).
If you are aware of AJJ but not this album, this is technically their pop record. Before you raise your arms in dismay, assuming you'll be hearing bass-drops and EDM synth breaks, fear not. What I mean by this is their instrumentation has become more full (adding far more of it than even before), their songs have more clear and defined structures and the melodies are more prominent than have been on past albums.
The opening song is entitled Temple Grandin is one of my personal favourites of the album. As soon as the opening line seeps through the speakers ("Open your murder eyes and see the ugly world that spat you out") you know instantly what you're in for. Referencing Helen Keller and Stevie Wonder (both people who have over come disabilities), Andrew Jackson Jihad have added more layers to their music both in the instrumentation and in the lyrics.
This is followed up by Children Of God. This is BY FAR my most listened to song of 2014. It was everything I wanted out of a single, and it's woven itself into this album masterfully. In classic AJJ fashion, topics such as cannibalism, vampires, drugs all arise throughout the song - keeping the listener on the edge of their seat, attentively wondering where the band will take their music next.
We then get Do, Re And Me. One of the shorter songs but it still has a lasting effect. This is possibly the single track on the album that proves Andrew Jackson Jihad's astounding sense of lyrical/musical dynamics. Hearing the sweeping melodies of an acoustic guitar under Sean Bonnette's whiny vocals as they call out "I walked into a room full of corpses" is rather bizarre to say the least.
With these perfect 3 tracks, you'd assume the album would continue in suite.
Sadly no... While there are still some fantastic songs on here, there are certainly some weaker pieces. Songs like Deathlessness had so much potential to be one of the best songs on here, but fell short due to a couple of minor errors...
Production wise this is the best production this band as ever had. It's dynamically brilliant, every performer gets their voice (or musical saw) heard. It's crystal clear, which seems to wipe away some of the grit under the finger nails that so many came to love from this band, but I can assure you multiple listens and it will be revealed.
All in all, this isn't AJJ's best album (People Who Eat People... and Knife Man still hold those titles for me) but it's definitely one of their most important. It's also you that will continue to be appreciated in the coming years.
Quite the opening statement you might say, but I struggle to find another band to have begun in the last 10 years or so that have established their sound so brilliantly. While there is obvious influence from Neutral Milk Hotel, The Mountain Goats and Violent Femmes, their sound is still instantly recognizable. Musically, you can expect folk integrated with catchy bubblegum punk. In sound, they may not sound too spiteful or bitter, but this element of their music comes through in the lyrics. Exploring themes of self-hate, self-obsession, suicide, death, isolation, pain and misery, you might not think their lyrics will stand out too much when we have bands like Converge or Vision Of Disorder. However, Andrew Jackson Jihad approached these topics in a very different way. They put a comedic and light-hearted twist on such topics as disability, racism and social issues (refreshing to say the least).
If you are aware of AJJ but not this album, this is technically their pop record. Before you raise your arms in dismay, assuming you'll be hearing bass-drops and EDM synth breaks, fear not. What I mean by this is their instrumentation has become more full (adding far more of it than even before), their songs have more clear and defined structures and the melodies are more prominent than have been on past albums.
The opening song is entitled Temple Grandin is one of my personal favourites of the album. As soon as the opening line seeps through the speakers ("Open your murder eyes and see the ugly world that spat you out") you know instantly what you're in for. Referencing Helen Keller and Stevie Wonder (both people who have over come disabilities), Andrew Jackson Jihad have added more layers to their music both in the instrumentation and in the lyrics.
This is followed up by Children Of God. This is BY FAR my most listened to song of 2014. It was everything I wanted out of a single, and it's woven itself into this album masterfully. In classic AJJ fashion, topics such as cannibalism, vampires, drugs all arise throughout the song - keeping the listener on the edge of their seat, attentively wondering where the band will take their music next.
We then get Do, Re And Me. One of the shorter songs but it still has a lasting effect. This is possibly the single track on the album that proves Andrew Jackson Jihad's astounding sense of lyrical/musical dynamics. Hearing the sweeping melodies of an acoustic guitar under Sean Bonnette's whiny vocals as they call out "I walked into a room full of corpses" is rather bizarre to say the least.
With these perfect 3 tracks, you'd assume the album would continue in suite.
Sadly no... While there are still some fantastic songs on here, there are certainly some weaker pieces. Songs like Deathlessness had so much potential to be one of the best songs on here, but fell short due to a couple of minor errors...
Production wise this is the best production this band as ever had. It's dynamically brilliant, every performer gets their voice (or musical saw) heard. It's crystal clear, which seems to wipe away some of the grit under the finger nails that so many came to love from this band, but I can assure you multiple listens and it will be revealed.
All in all, this isn't AJJ's best album (People Who Eat People... and Knife Man still hold those titles for me) but it's definitely one of their most important. It's also you that will continue to be appreciated in the coming years.
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