Jackson Politick "Paste V.1" LP

Side A: Habit, This Town, Fear (Is A Jerk’s Best Friend), Learning To Live With It, Hooked On A Feelin’, Sex & Pity
Side B: I Get Carried Away, Is Oliver Depressed, I Am A Raver, The Hours

Includes: Full color heavyweight glossy jacket, artwork done by Erik Nervous, risograph insert and DL code

LISTEN

When it comes to rock music worthy of the titular “outsider” label, being embellished in enough surprisingly-sensical idiosyncrasies to separate the sound from a more straightforward style, history has shown time and time again that you can’t go wrong with someone like Andy Jordan. Serving as a frontman to the ever-swoonworthy Andy Human and The Reptoids, as well as the semi-lucid guitarist to Oakland’s The World -- another post-punk n’ funk band that lies beyond the realm of normalcy --, there exists an Andy-bred solo project that toys with conventions similar to those explored in both these projects; and no, it isn’t “Andy Human”, which is his other solo project. Of course, the solo project at hand is none other than Jackson Politick. Save for the single name attached, the band is about as cryptic as any other self-released punk cassette. It’s driftless, sporadic, and oftentimes frenzied, coursing through an array of subgenres during its 27 minute runtime. Contained within this eclectic collection of punk-tinged chunes are lulling, generally low-energy jams spotted with light, fuzzy, sparkly melodies and charming instrumental arrangements, a lo-fi auditory soundscape sheathed in summery vibes, all ruptured by an occasional stint of fiery guitar licks and pulsing drumbeats more oriented towards punk territory. This sort of variability, this spirit, this free-formed attitude, all elevate this album into something that’s so helplessly charismatic. It’s much more than gimmicky stylizations made to pander to the lowest common denominators of rock and roll fiends, or overly-sugary ballads made to rot your ear canals with earworms as shallow as your average Hallmark card. It’s just... smart.