19th
Andrew Jackson Jihad - “Can’t Maintain”
Quirky, Phoenix-based folk-punk group Andrew Jackson Jihad have, in the five years since they formed, released a considerable volume of material, as well as become one of the more talked-about bands of the indie-folk scene. The duo (well, duo for the most part) turned-out several EPs and splits before finally releasing their official debut album People That Can Eat People are the Luckiest People in the World, followed by the equally superb 10” Only God Can Judge Me.
Their latest effort, Can’t Maintain, sees the band taking a more “electric” approach, incorporating distorted guitars, full drum sets, and even the occasional fuzzed-out bass. This is a marked departure from their previous release, which, with the exception of a short drum-roll in the introduction to the first track, was entirely acoustic-duo, featuring just guitar and upright bass. The lyrics are just as passionate, honest, and bizarrely tongue-in-cheek, but the music is quite the interesting twist here.
Many people have made comparisons between AJJ and Neutral Milk Hotel, but with this album those parallels are more fully realized than ever before. However, they still cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be considered a mere Jeff Magnum-ripoff. There is something furiously original about this band, and ‘Can’t Maintain’ only goes to further demonstrate that fact.
Download here (but then you have to buy it, deal?)
4.4 out of 5
- Post-Industrial Waste
