Maladroit - Jerk Alert!

The recent french album to fuck my world in two would have to be Jerk Alert! by Maladroit, which just came out on Guerilla Asso recently. It's pop punk, but isn't too similar to Les Rasoirs Electriques. For one, Maladroit chooses to sing in english, as opposed to french. Also, Les Rasoirs has more of a Descendents and Ergs feel, whereas Maladroit is way closer to Screeching Weasel and Nerf Herder. What these bands and their albums DO have in common, is the fact that they're both fucking incredible and this music is to die for, or some other hyperbolic thing that means it's really rad.

(Also, the name Maladroit automatically makes everyone thing Weezer...and you should just get that notion out of your head. Because there's nothing weezer-like here...this is man's town, now. Also, I just looked up Maladroit and it means inept. So there.)

This song is full of the shit that pop-punk kids crave. Well, at least those of the ramonescore, Queers loving persuasion. Songs about erections, overdosing on burgers, girls, and overall awkwardness...and I guess ineptitude. The vocals are handled with a pair of balls, and the instruments are handled with a need for speed and years of talent and experience, with the band boasting members of Guerilla Poubelle, Dead Pop Club, and Jetsex et Justin(e). There's enough talent and awesomeness here for you to dock a boat to, but I don't own a boat or anything. Also, you probably shouldn't tie your boat up to these guys...that'd be rude.

It's seriously hard for me to pick out just a few specific sounds to talk to you dudes about, because the entire album is worth your time, my time, and the time of everyone in the world, up to and including important political leaders such as Nelson Mandela, and also including important animals, such as lions and tigers and bears, oh my, this shit is good. Well, you of course should listen to the ones I mentioned earlier, "Burger OD" and "Morning Glory on Tour Feels Like Hell", because they're basically staple songs for this genre, and should appropriately rock your shit. I mean, the Morning Glory song even has "erection" repeated as backup vocals...what more could you ask for? Also, the song "Comfort Zone" has this lead part at the beginning that reminds me a lot of Dopamines, followed by the rest of the song sounding more like Dear Landlord. You'll notice a definitely similarity to Dear Landlord and Rivethead when it comes to the vocals, though, so you'll be used to that.

Songs like "Don't Tell My Girlfriend I Got a New Band", "Jetter la clef", and "brutalite" have lyrics in french for either parts of the song or entirely throughout, which leaves me in the dark...but I guarantee the lyrics are awesome and probably very relevant to our pop-punk lives regardless of what languages we understand. The song "There's no 'I' in DIY" has a definite Copyrights feel, which is fucking awesome that they have bands similar to The Copyrights and The Dopamines overseas, and makes this world okay to look at sometimes.

Songs like "Girls on Film" and "Low Enough" express a slower edge to the band at some points...but of course by slower I still mean fast...just not as fast. I really need to get this CD at some point...I want a physical copy to hold in my hand...and to bring to their shows whenever they play here and get it signed and be call content and giddy about life. I also need a lyric sheet, because half the time I can't understand what he's singing, when I really want to. There's a lot of Cincinnati Harmony going on at some points on this record. Cincinnat Harmony is where the backup vocalist just sings the same thing as the lead vocalist, in the same melody and everything. The named originated with the Dopamines...and I'm forcing it to stick.

Anyway, you can purchase or stream this album on their bandcamp http://guerillaasso.bandcamp.com/album/jerk-alert, and as a punx I highly recommend streaming the fuck out of it, but as a realist, I know you'll want to put this shit on your ipod, so you very well may have to buy it, because you will love it. That is fact. Also, you should just check out everything Guerilla Asso has to offer, because it's all good (in the hood). Later.

-Idle