In Hear This, A.V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well—some inspired by a weekly theme and some not, but always songs worth hearing.
When news broke late last year about Pissed Jeans’ new record—Honeys, out February 12 on Sub Pop—I was pretty excited. The band’s last two LPs, Hope For Men and King Of Jeans, have been in pretty constant rotation in my iTunes since their respective releases, helping me re-up my occasionally waning levels of “fuck you” attitude and scuzz-punk grit. Sure, the Pennsylvania band has only put out three records, but they’re three really good records, so why wouldn’t Honeys be great too? That’s naïve thinking, I know, but I’ll choose to be positive until proven wrong.
Fortunately for my reputation and my psyche, both of the singles off Honeys have been excellent. “Bathroom Laughter” not only has a kickass title and amazing basement-show attitude, but it also manages to capture the manic nature of seeing a complete stranger having a total breakdown. (“You’re in the kitchen crying,” “You’re in the hallway screaming,” and so on.) “Cathouse,” the record’s second single, is a little cleaner, but still harnesses all sorts of Jesus Lizard-style raw power. You can practically hear David Yow growling Matt Korvette’s vocals right before he shoves the microphone down his dirty jeans and crowd-surfs to the back of the room.