Drive Like Jehu

Orpheus Listening Challenge 2023: #44 An album from a punk subgenre (5th album)

For a debut (and come to think of it, for an album at any stage of a band's career), it absolutely rocks. I like the way in which the band transmits emotional energy through changes in the intensity of playing, thus causing a kind of anxious accumulation of energy, which will be scattered throughout the room for a few seconds. Although it is post-hardcore in nature, the emo influences are absolutely visible, obviously in the vocal delivery, and a little less obvious in the playing on certain sections, which is cleverly placed between the noise and the sound of one hundred percent rebelliousness, anger, and passion. It's also worth mentioning that the element of instrumental passages on some songs like "O Pencil Sharp" and "If It Kills You" are surprisingly enjoyable, probably because it feels like it needs to be there to relieve energy, rather than it being placed as a pizzazz effect on the listener.

Most people mention it as a footnote in relation to their second album, Yank Crime, which I haven't heard yet (shocking, especially when we consider that post-hardcore is one of the more intriguing genres for me), but somehow it's hard for me to imagine that anything could surpass an album like this.