Folk-Punk duo Andrew Jackson Jihad's new release, "Knife Man," is their 4th LP which sticks faithfully to what the group is known for, dark lyrics and meta-humor mixed with folk-punk energy. Andrew Jackson Jihad is an Arizona-based group that was formed after its original drummer, Justin James White, approached Sean Bonnette and Ben Gallaty, who had just left Rodan and The Sub-Standards. Since then, many Arizona musicians have sat in with the remaining duo of Sean and Ben, such as Dylan Cook of Partners In 818. The constantly shifting lineup results in wide-ranging sonic textures both live and on albums.
Probably their most well-known record is their 2007 release, "People Who Can Eat People are the Luckiest People in the World," which had a very concise and corybantic sound that disguised the almost sinister lyrics, such as, "There's a rapist and a Nazi living in our tiny hearts. Child pornographers, and cannibals and politicians too. There's someone in your head waiting to strangle you." Lyric-wise, Knife Man is a tad more light-hearted and more internal. It is a self-conflict album.
Now, while that may sound trite, there is a particular beauty of its execution. Throughout the album it becomes increasingly obvious that the album is self-aware of the central theme, but shrugs its shoulders and embraces the mediocrity anyway. A great example comes from the track, "Sad Songs,"which Sean, in a laid back tone exclaims, "When I pick up my guitar and I try to write a song, I think of what my mentor used to say, ‘Who gives a rat's***. Just write a love song.'" Despite the humorous reflection on an old theme, there is, in fact, a legitimate conflict. Sean is scared of the world and faces addiction every day. The track "American Tune" has lyrics that are quite funny, but contain a sick reality to it. Each lyric is clean and gets the point across fabulously, but it is surprisingly one-dimensional compared to their earlier works. There is a nagging feel of sloppiness throughout the album save for a few tracks.
As previously stated, the duo has an abundance of energy, but a large portion of such energy is squandered due to instrumentation. There is a chance that it could be a self-parody based on the theme, but it translates more to generic but witty progressions. The album feels too loose, not in the sense that it goes all over the place, but in the sense that everything is not blending together like it should. However, tracks such as "American Tune," "Zombie by the Cranberries by Andrew Jackson Jihad," and "Big Bird" do not adhere to this claim. "Big Bird" is the climax of the album and almost makes up for the negative observations.
In the end, "Knife Man" is a witty jumble of self-deprecation with a somewhat hindered presence of in-your-face energy. It is a worthy addition to 2011's folk library and should be checked out at least once. You may be surprised.
