(((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain))))): DRIVE LIKE JEHU

Friday, 2 December 2016

DRIVE LIKE JEHU

Band: DRIVE LIKE JEHU

Genres: Punk / Indie Rock / Math Rock / Hardcore / Emo / Emotive Hardcore / Grunge
Related artists: Pitchfork, Hot Snakes, Back Of Cupids, Stacatto Reads, The Night Marchers, aMiniature, First Offense, Night Soil Man, Crash Worship, Obits, Physics, Sultans and Rocket From The Crypt.
Country: San Diego, California USA
Years Active: 1990-1995
Song: "Caress"
Album: "Drive Like Jehu"
Year: 1991
For fans of: Frodus, Slint, Rye Coalition, Fugazi, Hoover, Secret Smoker, Rites Of Spring, Panthers, Teenage Swoon, JR Ewing, Refused, Trapdoor Fucking Exit, Poledo, Shellac, Nation Of Ulysses, Quicksand, Nirvana, Sleepytime Trio, Four Hundred Years, The Exploder, Maximillian Colby and Indian Summer.

Label(s): Swami Records / Interscope Records / Headhunter Records / Cargo Records / Merge Records
This post's artist is from the November 2016 Mix. This is track #2.

You can download: the November 2016 Mix#11 right here or get the new December 2016 Mix#12 here.

Let's be real here. I shouldn't be writing this review. Sure, I understand that DRIVE LIKE JEHU was a seminal punk/hardcore/emo band. Yes, I thoroughly enjoy DRIVE LIKE JEHU's musical output. Buuuuut, I didn't even hear DRIVE LIKE JEHU until about 2008 and even now I feel very uneducated regarding the band, their history as well as their releases. Therefore, this will be very bare bones and generally uninformative but I'll give you the quick Daverview (that's a Dave Overview, for those of you who don't love to mash words together).

Starting in way back in 1990, DRIVE LIKE JEHU released their demo cd that same year, housing four songs of spastic, screamy rock not unlike Sleepytime Trio, Four Hundred Years and The Expoder, all of which showed up on their 1991 debut full length LP 'Drive Like Jehu'. This first LP is amazing considering it is from way back in the early 90s. The self titled still holds up real well, but it's the final 1994 record 'Yank Crime' that is my personal favourite and most noteworthy release by the band. Originally put out on Interscope, this album was insanely influential as it perfectly mixed punk, alternative/indie rock, post-hardcore, grunge and mathy emo. A few years later the record was rereleased under the band's record label Shwami Records and tacked on the 1992 releases of the 7" with the songs "Bullet Train to Vegas" and "Hand Over Fist" as well as the compilation track called "Sinews". The 7" is pretty damn awesome, as it opens with "Bullet Train to Vegas", possibly the heaviest DRIVE LIKE JEHU song. Although there is yellin' that borders on screaming, the band generally opts for a shouted/yelled approach. The guitars are pretty great, using a mathy and dueling style that is both melodic and jarring simultaneously. DRIVE LIKE JEHU songs are on the longer side, generally, with most songs clocking in at four to six minutes. I think a pretty decent comparison would be Frodus with a heavy injection of emo. A last note of worthiness is that drummer Mark Trombino went on to produce massive bands such as Blink 182, Mineral and Jimmy Eat World, to name a few.

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DISCOGRAPHY
Click )==>here<==( to download the band's complete discography in mp3 form.

1990 - Demo EP

1991 - Drive Like Jehu cassette/cd/12"LP

1992 - Bullet Train to Vegas b/w Hand Over Fist 7"EP
1992 - Head Start to Purgatory cd/12"LP compilation (contributed "Sinews")

1994 - Yank Crime cassette/cd/12"+7"LP

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(1995) DRIVE LIKE JEHU - "Golden Brown" (from 'Yank Crime')