If Sub Pop can lay claim to anything from the early ’90s heyday, it was that they successfully shoved “ugly” into the international spotlight. Though the label has continued to sign bands largely made up of hairy brutes, no band embodies that early spirit of knuckle-dragging-unwashed-working-class-dudecore better than Pissed Jeans. Pee Pants hails from Allentown, Pennsylvania, a place not far from where I was raised. When a friend of mine traveled there to see this band, his only report back to me on the town was “Dude:Sheetz!” referring to the convenience store/gas station that dominates the interstate exits of my homestate. If you’ve ever set foot in one of these places, you’ll better understand Pissed Jeans. Their first album for Sub Pop, Hope for Men (ha-ha: get it?) is a fist-clenched, misanthrope’s wet dream, but with a blatant sense of humor. The anthemic “People Person” is righteously awesome, given that singer Matt Korvette makes it painfully clear throughout that he’s not a “people person,” and “My Bed” is sounds like the band is declaring war on the world, but would rather not leave the house to do so. And if youve never heard their Scratch Acid-meets-Drunks With Guns 7″ “Don’t Need Smoke To Make Myself Disappear,” do yourself a favor and go buy that ugly beauty.
Sat., July 12, 4 p.m., 2008
