You’d think Jake Robertson would already have his hands full playing in the likes of Ausmuteants, Leather Towel, School Damage, Drug Sweat et al. But no, evidently there’s always time for one more thoroughly wracked project, and Alien Nose Job’s focus is as kaleidoscopically scattershot as you’d expect from a man with such a short attention span. Just to confirm: yes, that’s a good thing.
From the off, we glide through the Coneheads-style Devocore of Television Sets before romping through the jangling lo-fi pop of Weight of the World, which skips and mopes while making like The Clean setting light to their parents’ carpet with a magnifying glass. There’s also charmingly scruffy soul-pop, chugging sci-fi slop-punk, straight-up college rock balladry and much, much more. But these aren’t sketches or tossed-off genre exercises. They’re bona fide works of consummate skill that resonate sincerely and effortlessly. Essentially, each song sounds like a challenge to the one that follows, a cry of ‘step the fuck up’; Suddenly Everything is Twice as Loud is a treasure trove of mini-masterpieces. Rough as fuck mini-masterpieces, sure, recorded with a cheap drum machine and guitars that sound like rusty drills cutting through power cables, but mini-masterpieces nonetheless.
When venerable doyens of the pop establishment make albums of such eclectic scope and genuine songwriting talent, they get called geniuses. When punk as fuck wiseguys like Robertson pull it off, words like ‘maverick’ get tossed around. Rest assured, his Alien Nose Job project covers both angles. This second album is an instant classic that deserves to be heard far beyond the underground – but if it isn’t, who cares? He’s probably playing in another seven bands already by the time you read this. I’ve not heard them yet either, but I can tell you they’re all fucking amazing. Just buy this record and join the cult.
https://drunkensailorrecords.bandcamp.com/album/suddenly-everything-is-twice-as-loud-lp
