- Lyrics
- Maturity/Complexity
- Instrumentation
- Energy
- Ensemble
Andrew Jackson Jihad is one of those bands that has come as far as they have entirely of their own volition. Their unique Folk-Punk sounds have captured the hearts and minds of introspective people without the patience for heavily distorted punk rock. Andrew Jackson Jihad uses almost entirely acoustic instrumentation, but their lyrics are smart, witty, and most importantly, angry. This blend of vocal clarity with strong (and at times, hilarious) subject matter has given Andrew Jackson Jihad a special place in my heart. 2011 saw the release of their newest record, Knife Man, on Asian Man Records, which is a strong follow-up to their earlier works, Can’t Maintain and People Who Can Eat Other People Are The Luckiest People In The World.
Knife Man marks a stronger emphasis on the electric guitar than Andrew Jackson Jihad has usually implemented in the past. The tone of the songs, however, remains consistent with their earlier work. Andrew Jackson Jihad’s introspective rage is punctuated with blisteringly fast mandolin strumming, and the lyrics keep up with the near-breakneck, chaotic pace of the music. Lyrically, “Hate, Rain Over Me” is perhaps the best example of this, opening with “I wish I had a bullet big enough to shoot the fucking sun/I hate songs about the summer.” Andrew Jackson Jihad’s frontman and songwriter, Sean Bonnette, writes songs that almost seem to be jokes because they are so childishly angry. However, his incredible wordplay, clearly influenced by his love for Hip-Hop, more than clarifies that he is a strongly opinionated artist who should be taken seriously.
Or at least, semi-seriously, like all punk bands. F*ck the establishment, etc.
The high-quality production of the album belies the Do-It-Yourself work ethic that has propelled Andrew Jackson Jihad out of the Phoenix, Arizona underground scene and into the national spotlight. Andrew Jackson Jihad came to the Heirloom Arts Theatre in Danbury, CT earlier this year.
“Distance,” a song about a long-distance relationship, actually includes something relatively rare for an Andrew Jackson Jihad song: A guitar solo! Bonnette apologizes for his solo with the following: “I hate whiny fuckin’ songs like this, but I can’t afford a therapist/Sorry guys, here’s a solo.” He then proceeds to rip into an intentionally cheesy solo. Distance
Maybe it’s my inner yuppie/hipster/”sophisticated” coming out, but to me, irony is one of the greatest things a musician can layer into his songs. “American Tune,” a song written by a straight white male in America…about being a straight white male in America, is a fantastically ironic piece of poetry that has a strong beat and chord structure to back it up.
As usual, Andrew Jackson Jihad makes use of their friends in the Phoenix area on many tracks, collaborating with their fellow artists to create a communal whole that is more than just one band.
All in all, I give this album a 4.5 out of 5 stars (I use a different rating criteria for each genre I review. The same parameters that govern what I think of Electronic Dance Music cannot be applied to American Folk Punk). I like the willingness to experiment with leaning slightly more to the Punk side of Folk-Punk, but one of the things that attracted me to Andrew Jackson Jihad was the lack of a distorted guitar muddying up the vocals. That said, the album definitely bears the mark of all things Andrew Jackson Jihad. Lyrically, it’s as insightful (and profane) as ever. “Fucc the Devil” begins with an almost mopey, minor key drawl of “I’m gonna fuck the devil right in his mouth,” and doesn’t slow down from there.
I can’t wait to see where they go from here. The band is not afraid to shake things up, and does so with style and grace. Or a disgusting lack of grace. You can never tell with these guys.
