by Seth Daspit (@gazeisdone)
Judy and the Jerks have survived long-distance communication and being in numerous other bands to release their second LP. Despite half of the band moving to Atlanta mere months before COVID hit, they’ve stayed the course with a few tape releases between now and their previous LP release, Friendships Formed in the Pit.
Music To Go Nuts has effective gang vocals that emphasize lyrics, speaking to audiences with lines like, “Living in society / has filled me with anxiety,” along with, “Nothing to prove!” Julie Gore thrives on her trademark playfulness with songs like “I Lost My Feet,” which are accompanied by gang vocals you’d have to smile while saying in, “She lost her feet!” throughout.
“Scorpion” is instrumentally relentless the moment Hampton Martin’s bass slides and starts plucking away – already in sync with Sarah Krock’s beat. Midway through the song, Austin Griffith has an abrupt solo that is opts for forget-whatever-you’re-playing-and-literally-just-smash-the-high-frets. Remastered songs from past tape releases like the wholesome, let’s-make-it-big ballad of “California,” the self-explanatory “Dog,” and the immersive riffs of “Buford” squeeze their way to the LP. The songs give comfortable familiarity like an old friend, and – in a way – justice for getting LP treatment!
An ultra-rare three-and-a-half-minute song “Control” finishes out the album, leaving the feeling of not a last-chance pit move, but a more retrospective tone that reminds us that the world we want to build is closer than we think. This band has been given the tagline of “food fight music,” but they have always been more than that one-line description of chaos. Judy and the Jerks are a reminder that punk does not need to be tough or built on upping someone else. There is nothing to prove.