Pissed Jeans - Half Divorced (2024) Hi Res

As feral, art-damaged post-hardcore shredding goes, you can’t ask for better than Pissed Jeans. They’re so deft at merging zigzag bass, machine-gun guitar, assaultive vocals, and concrete mixer percussion that it doesn’t even seem strange to be listening to middle-aged dudes ripping teenage sounds. Who knows, PIssed Jeans might soon soundtrack a commercial for blood pressure meds? The pounding Half Divorced is, in fact, a template for how to be brutish, loud, and brash without also being a repugnant, lib-trolling rube. Having an actually sharp sense of humor goes a long way, while channeling Helmet by way of Black Flag with Dez and Greg does the rest of the work.

Frontman Matt Korvette brings an unexpected array of diversity to their sixth album. Some tunes are more metal, others veer towards the brain-damaged realms of Flipper, and several songs could be new workout anthems or blistering buzzsaw bangers to mow the lawn too fast by. The delightful skanker "Everywhere is Bad" is seriously more hilarious than your old Suicidal Tendencies or Circle Jerks songs. And "Anti Sapio," with its nearly Oi! song structure and vocals, is such a joy—in part because you don’t need to run down an internet search to make sure the lyrics aren’t something retrograde or worse. The production deliberately shifts with each song, too, making it one for the headphones crew.