School Jerks "Decline" ep

I am loving this second ep even more than the first. Ben’s riffs sound more and more like early CIRCLE JERKS, which probably gets them comparisons to REGULATIONS because the REGULATIONS used to be ETA and ETA went for the same CIRCLE JERKS appreciation. Well SCHOOL JERKS do the CIRCLE JERKS without getting as amped up. I prefer the SCHOOL JERKS version better because you can actually keep up with their pace. They just bash it out. The anger is more pronounced. And Luke’s vocals get more and more off beat like Darby Crash and yet still somehow sync up. The song “Decline”  makes me think of Darby’s interview in “Decline of the Western Civiliaztion” but I think it has more to do with Tara’s artwork. Tara explains the cover art as representing the decline of the 60’s counterculture with drawings of the Manson family, bikers, hippies draped in the American flag and a student shot at Kent state. A proper explanation can be found on Tara’s site at http://tarabursey.blogspot.com/2009/11/school-jerks-ep-cover.html. It looks incredible. There is a song on here called “Rent Boy” that makes me think of the Toronto punk band by the same name. “Guestlist” sounds self-explanatory as does “Street Talk”. Stripped down basic punk. And this is the last record Matt gets to do with the SCHOOL JERKS as he is off and starting his own band. (Cowabunga Records – www.cowabungarecords.com)

The songs found on this record are:

1. Decline

2. Rent Boy

3. Street Talk

4. Guestlist