Jerks! - First Day
JERKS! SET TO DROP ‘FIRST DAY’ EP
Charleston, West Virginia pop-punk outfit Jerks! will drop a new EP, entitled First Day, at the end of February 2020. And from the two tracks available for listening on Bandcamp right now, it promises to be a grand, strapping EP full of fresh creative music.
Jerks!
Unfortunately, there’s not much gen readily obtainable about the band, except for a list of who’s in the band on their FB page: KC (guitar, vocals, bad jokes), John (guitar, vocals, diabetes), Scott (bass, vocals, science), and Nathan (drums, steaks).
The two accessible tracks on Bandcamp are “I Don’t Care” and “You’re So Cool, Brewster.” The former opens on blistering feedback flowing into glazed guitars moussing up to beefy dynamics, with sliding accents tossed in to add sizzling tones. The rhythm pushes hard atop a thrumming bassline and skintight crisp drums. I love the flat taut pop of the snare provided by Nathan.
This band is locked in tight!
Cool punk-flavored vocals infuse the lyrics with double-edged apologetic potency: “I avoided people that I love / Something that I should not have done / Time I won't get back / And the words that I regret / Should have been reserved for somebody else / I don't care / I don't care / Believe me when i say / It's better off this way.”
“You’re So Cool, Brewster” travels on strident rapier-like guitars segueing into grinding muscularity, stuttering and angular. Thick layers of guitars deliver two distinct textures, one hefty and groaning with dirty energy, the other stretched tight and burning.
A fat powerful bassline and rampaging drums establish the infectiously compelling rhythm, rippling with lathered undercurrents, as the slightly reedy vocals add tasty textures. A bass-filled breakdown affixes trembling guitar colors and then blasts off to assertive momentum.
Jerks! definitely have it going on in a big, big way, punching out sticky pop-punk that’s gooey with pulsing get-up-and-go. This band is locked in tight!
