Honeys

The Allentown, Pa.–based Pissed Jeans let their sound breathe a bit more on their fourth album, 2013's Honeys. GRAMMY®-nominated producer Alex Newport gives the band's aggressive bite more depth in spots, while other moments ("Something About Mrs. Johnson") are as lo-fi and nasty as the group has ever been. "Male Gaze" has the off-balance lurch of the best hardcore punk, sounding in part like the legendary '80s New Jersey hardcore band Bedlam. Just like their neighbors in Bedlam, Pissed Jeans sing about the trials and tribulations of the suburban workplace and do so with passionate hatred flowing through the rhythms and riffs. "Chain Worker," "Cafeteria Food," "Cat House," and "Health Plan" are no more and no less than what they seem: screams of rage from workers staring down a dead end. Catchy choruses occasionally venture out of the chaos ("Bathroom Laughter"), but this is mostly the brutal damning noise that's been driving punk bands since the days of Black Flag.