Pissed Jeans Share Digital Single Version of Flexi-disc Cover of Lou Reed’s “Waves of Fear” (New Noise Flexi Collection/Sub Pop Records)
Pissed Jeans, L-R: Brad Fry, Matt Korvette, Sean McGuinness, and Randy Huth (CREDIT: Ebru Yildiz)
Pissed Jeans are a Philly-based troupe, who make Hardcore Punk, Noise Rock, Post-hardcore, and/or Pigf**k music, if you’re really Chester Cheetah levels of cool. I’ve seen The Jeans (what us cool cats often call Pissed Jeans) at a few charismatically dirty, dingey hole-in-the-wall Philly venues a number over the years. I guess I first got into The Jeans during their Honeys (2013) album release roll-out and touring cycle and I’ve genuinely loved and enjoyed all of the sonic weirdness that’s come since, 2017’s “WHY LOVE NOW?” and most recently, 2024’s Half Divorced. I’ve since gone back and listened to and thoroughly enjoyed the past Jeans albums—Shallow (2005,) Hope for Men (2007,) and King of Jeans (2009)—too. I’ve also interviewed frontman Matt Korvette once and drummer Sean McGuinness a couple times, as well, in the years since. Last year, prior to the release of Half Divorced, Pissed Jeans were featured on the cover acclaimed Punk ‘zine New Noise Magazine Issue #70 and along with it, came a limited edition flexi-disc boasting an extra song left on the cutting room floor of the album sessions. When asked by New Noise, if Pissed Jeans has any plans of “mellowing out,” Korvette somewhat snarkily replied, “I think part of it is us very strongly not wanting to age into Wimp Rock, as is the usual Punk trajectory/retirement plan,” he says. “I don’t know of any band who, like, released their first authentic Hardcore Punk songs six albums in! That idea amused us for sure; that our overall fastest and most aggressive record came out when we’re also at our most elderly. It’s like the direct opposite of S.S.D., [The] Circle Jerks, Die Kreuzen, [and] Hüsker Dü—all those greats.”
I’ll just let The Jeans explain it a bit further, via a recent Bandcamp statement: here, we have “an incredible cover of Lou Reed’s “Waves of Fear." The song was recorded during the sessions for their acclaimed Half Divorced. It was, also, available as a limited edition flexi-disc, which was released in conjunction with their cover feature for the US Punk ‘zine New Noise Magazine last spring. Matt Korvette says of the song: “the seasick bass riff that centers “Waves of Fear” is one of my all-time favorites, so we had to take a stab at this paranoid, self-loathing classic. I yell, “TAKE IT, CRYSTAL!” at the end because Crystal Waters frequently records in the same studio we had recorded in and we were hopeful she might ad-lib some Soulful vocals at the end, the next time she stopped by. Sadly, it did not pan out." As you may be able to gather from that pizzazz’ed-up statement, just yesterday, Pissed Jeans let loose their Lou Reed cover from the flexis and onto the greater music streaming services of The Internet. It’s pretty close to the Reed original, honestly, in all of its scuzzed out, guitar feedback-drenched glory, as originally appearing on 1982’s The Blue Mask. For his version of “Waves of Fear” and the accompanying album Reed recruited guitarist Robert Quine (Richard Hell & The Voidoids, Marianne Faithfull, Tom Waits,) bassist Fernando Saunders (Jimmy Page, Heart, Eric Clapton,) and drummer Doane Perry (later of Jethro Tull fame.) Below, you can hear Pissed Jeans’ 2024 version of “Waves of Fear,” along with Lou Reed’s original from 1982, now, both, also, available for repeat listens on digital streaming platforms, as well.
