Mean Jeans

Mean Jeans

Blasted

Fat Wreck Chords

***From the moment they started 15 years ago, Mean Jeans have been creating their own slime punk fantasy world. Study their six previous album covers and you’ll find junkyards full of bongs and yo-yos, macaroni galaxies, Jägermeister spaceships, alien saxophonists and pink slugs in bondage dripping ooze. On their newest full-length album Blasted, the goofball trio have clearly been through wild years and seen some shit—on the cover, the three members peer out of toxic waste bins, no longer cartoons of themselves but instead incredulous country-fried maniacs who are still following a slime punk dream, and dealing with where it’s led them. Which isn’t to say the Jeans are jaded. In fact, the band seem to be having as much fun as ever on this record, ripping through these 15 rapid fire ear worms without coming up for air. They seem equally focused on tight catchy songwriting and packing in Easter eggs and absurd lyrical references. This record is a frantic and frenetic joyride. This energy was no doubt enhanced by the fact the band recorded Blasted all by themselves. At their own behest, the trio were left entirely to their own devices, putting themselves through their own physical paces by trying to be in two places—the control room and the recording room—at once. As singer/guitarist Billy Jeans puts it, “It's idiotic, but when it's just the three of us fucking around, the vibe is there.” You can hear that all throughout Blasted. It’s a weird, wonderful and wacky album,...

Mean Jeans

Gigantic Sike

Fat Wreck Chords

***Since forming in 2006, MEAN JEANS have become one of the better-known bands of the Pacific Northwest punk scene for their chaotic but relentless attack, raucous live shows, and fierce commitment to the art of partying. They brought the party to Fat in 2016 with their highly acclaimed Fat Wreck debut Tight New Dimension, followed by last year’s Jingles Collection—a 23-song assemblage of unsolicited jingles written for their favorite products. Gigantic Sike is the band's’ fifth full-length and falls into the same category as their prior albums—three-chord, heavily Ramones-influenced party punk, but with a bit of a twist. While the songs are fun and fast, there is a darker story being told of the bleak existence of a party boy. Each of the 11 tracks have an element of sadness and cynicism to them. On the surface, opening track “Party Line” is about a hotline you call when you’re ready to party. The hotline is singer BILLY JEANS' actual cell phone. No one is blowing up the party line anymore and everyone is moving on with their lives. “What the Fuck Is up Tonight?” describes the struggle between heeding the call to grow up, and the desire to live in the moment. Gigantic Sike’s mission statement concludes with its closing track. “Time Warp” is a fizzy, melodic number that serves as an exit strategy for the issues presented throughout the album—you have the ability to run away from all of the stupid decisions you’ve made in life, and take the...

Mean Jeans

Jingles Collection

Fat Wreck Chords

***Since forming in 2006, MEAN JEANS have become one of the better-known bands of the Pacific Northwest punk scene for their chaotic but relentless attack, raucous live shows, and fierce commitment to the art of partying. Fat Wreck finally got their paws on the threesome in 2016 for their much anticipated third album Tight New Dimension. As those familiar with the band know, these guys’ hands refuse to stay idle. Following the release of their latest album, Mean Jeans went right back to work, but on something a little different this time around... Jingles Collection is a collection of, well, Jingles! The band tackle everything from “Mountain Dew,” to “Coors Light,” “Dunkaroos, ”“Pop Rocks;” and even give “180069SHRED” some love. These 23 tracks (most of which clocking in at under a minute) give fans of the band everything they’ve come to expect from these guys: Garage style rock n’ roll, with all the hooks, energy, and humor you can handle.

Mean Jeans

Tight New Dimension

Fat Wreck Chords

***Since forming in 2006, MEAN JEANS have become one of the better-known bands of the Pacific Northwest punk scene for their chaotic but relentless attack, raucous live shows, and fierce commitment to the art of partying. With two full-lengths under their belt on Dirtnap Records, and a slew of 7”s; Fat finally landed these party animals for their much anticipated third album. Tight New Dimension furthers the band’s absurdist party-punk agenda. The music is tight, Ramones-influenced pop-punk with garage-rock attitude. The song titles are gloriously literal, positing such deep thoughts as “Michael Jackson Was Tight” (about the King Of Pop), “4 Coors Meal” (sure to be the new liquid diet craze) and “Are There Beers In Heaven?” (an existential question everyone will likely face at some point in their lives). When it comes to lyrics, Mean Jeans is happy to keep it simple. (STREET DATE - 5/20/2016)

Mean Jeans

Singles

Dirtnap

***BACK IN STOCK!!! This epic 20 song collection comps singles, compilation appearances, a few covers (White Wires, Big Eyes, Sparks) and one track from deep in the vaults making its vinyl debut! Originally released on labels such as Dirtnap (natch!) Goner, Trouble In Mind, It’s Alive, Big Neck, and more, Singles works as a great overview of a now established band’s humble beginnings and subsequent progression. Listening to these songs reminds us of why we fell so hard for these guys in the first place, it’s been really fun for us here at Dirtnap to revisit some of this stuff! It’s all covered, from their earliest 2-piece recordings, to the first album era with HOWIE DOODAT on bass, to their current, slightly (but not much!) more polished lineup with JUNIOR JEANS. This comp shows the band at their rawest, oftentimes most goofy and irreverent, and oftentimes best. Pick it up.

Mean Jeans

On Mars

Dirtnap

***Portland's premier party punks THE MEAN JEANS return with their long-awaited follow up to 2009's Are You Serious! This is a different album, though, more mid-tempo catchier, and poppier (but less "pop punk" if you know what we mean) than their debut. In addition to the standard 3 piece instrumentation, Mean Jeans On Mars also features, at various times, acoustic guitar (!), keyboards (!), drum machines (!), empty Jaeger bottles (!) and boxes of macaroni (!) played as extra percussion. Oh and it also features the debut of new member JR. JEANS on bass! (Howie Doodat is busy tearing up Portland in the Suicide Notes!) This is a fantastic, exhilarating summertime pop album, so down a couple of jaegy bombs and get ready to moonwalk into the unknown with the Mean Jeans!

Mean Jeans

Are You Serious

Dirtnap

***THE MEAN JEANS are the kids that live down the street that blare the Ramones and the Angry Samoans late at night while they are playing "Edward 40s Hands." They have three things in their refrigerator: ketchup, beer and slime. The Mean Jeans were born when, at the ripe ages of 23 and 24, JEANS WILDER (skins, vox and smokes) and BILLY JEANS (vox, riffs and spliffs) started playing their parent's DC-area basements in the winter of 2006. They grew another member, HOWIE DOODAT (aka JEAN JEANS on the bass guitar), after moving to Portland, Oregon a year later. The thirteen garage pop tunes of Are You Serious harkens back to the Lookout! Records of the early ‘90s, when pop-punk meant snotty low-brow three-chord goodness and not glossy soundtracks to mall strolls. Like any good Cretin’s soundtrack, the "songs about partying" vs. "songs about girls" ratio leans fully toward PBR fueled pogo punk. Pitchfork already said The Mean Jeans "comes over like the Ramones mixed with a pinch of Joan Jett’s classic ‘Bad Reputation’ and makes you want to slam dance with its guitar riffs and rollicking drumbeats."