by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Grass Jaw in essence is a project of social distancing, though Brendan Kuntz has been developing his latest record, Jump, long before our current era of isolation. As the drummer for Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death, a post-hardcore band that released their J. Robbins produced album, Some Years, in 2019, Kuntz plays with a dense complexity and colossal precision. As Grass Jaw on the other hand, the Jersey City based lo-fi project opts for a loose and free approach as Kuntz steps out from behind the kit, performing all instruments and vocals, with a focus on earnest songwriting and gentle fuzz over anything too tangled. Set to release his sophomore solo album on May 29th, the album was recorded around a milestone birthday and built on themes of “mortality and urgency, parent-child relationships (from both perspectives), and looking back on childhood experience through adult-colored glasses.” It’s a great listen of humble songs and direct lyricism.
Lead single “Weird Hell” kicks off the record with a statement of intent. It’s a song about the sad state of affairs this country is in (again, pre-pandemic… less we forget things have been rough for a while), opening with the line, “imagine being someone whose not scared right now” before reminding us of the climate crisis, children locked in cages, and sexual oppression. Not to fixate on the terrors we face as society, Kuntz reminds us “feels as if I went to sleep and woke up in weird hell” before an eventual, “all of this is wrong.” The song rides a woozy synth organ sound and a slinking drum beat, perfecting the middle between bedroom folk and big fuzz-soaked slacker punk. It’s a terrific song from a great heartwarming record with a lot of dynamics within its ten songs.