DRIVE LIKE JEHU – Yank Crime

"...But give it a spin and it’s easy to see why the band might greet the record 20 years later with a sweat-drenched wipe of the brow. In simplest terms, Yank Crime is one ornery bastard of a record. As far as difficult opening tracks go, find me one that antagonizes listeners more than “Here Come the Rome Plows”. At a brisk 5:44, the song actually feels 10 times longer, what with the erratic time signatures, cacophonous guitars, piercing feedback, and Froberg’s blood-curdling screams. It’s a lot of sonic weight to carry right off the top, and the rest of the record’s 11 tracks don’t get the slightest bit easier. Some songs, like “Rome Plows” before them, just kick the shit out of your eardrums (“Golden Brown”). Others bleed distortion in your ear for a solid 40 seconds before assaulting your hearing (“Super Unison”). Still, others build up slowly and intricately until they explode (there are lots of these, but “Do You Compute” and “Sinews” might be the best). All told, listening to Ya