Do you want your punk rock fast, loud, and goofy? Then Mean Jeans are the band for you. Do you want something else along with that? Well, that might be a bit much to ask of the guys, judging from their fifth album, 2019's Gigantic Sike. Now, as always, Mean Jeans worship at the altar of the Ramones, and their commitment to constant downstroke, minimal but poppy melodies, and vocals with a pronounced East Coast twang (even though they're from Oregon) hasn't flagged a bit in the 18 months since they gave us The Jingles Collection, and "One More Before We Go" manages to crossbreed "I Wanna Be Sedated" and "Blitzkrieg Bop" with technically impressive results. The trouble is, Gigantic Sike is the same sort of album Mean Jeans have been making since their 2009 debut, Are You Serious? It's one thing for a band like the Ramones (or AC/DC) to make the same great album over and over again throughout their career, but making the same pretty good album several times in a row is another matter. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Gigantic Sike -- the music is well-executed pogo fodder you can yell along with, the lyrics generate genuine chuckles here and there, and they wrap the whole thing up in 21 efficient minutes. If you've enjoyed this band's earlier stuff, there's no reason why you wouldn't enjoy this LP too. But the Ramones had trouble advancing creatively after their initial run of four amazing albums, and Mean Jeans have seemingly chosen not to bother pushing forward. When you've clearly borrowed your shtick from someone else, being unable to add anything new to it can't help but get stale after a while. Gigantic Sike is a solid effort, but it's a bit like a Big Mac -- this one isn't going to be any better (or in any real way different) from the one you had the other day, and that can be good or bad depending on how you feel about variety.
© Mark Deming /TiVo