Pissed Jeans played Sonia – 6/1

PA troublemakers Pissed Jeans headlined Sonia with support from neighbors Carnivorous Bells and locals ICU.

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It’s never a dull time at the Pissed Jeans show. The Lehigh Valley sludge-punk foursome rustle up a lurching racket that vocalist Matt Korvette once famously described as “the musical equivalent to watching a toilet flush,” wringing black comedy and catharsis from music that – on paper – does sound pretty miserable. And in a live setting, the über-theatrical frontman and company always bring it. Last Thurday night at Central Square’s Sonia was no different.

Rocking the unbuttoned shirt look and sipping some kind of frozen McDonald’s concoction between songs, Korvette led the band through a short but satisfyingly wild show. They haven’t released a record since 2017’s Why Love Now, but road-tested a few new numbers that slotted into the set with ease before closing, as they often do, with “False Jesii Part 2” – the all-timer ode to not bothering.

Joining PJ on the road were Philly’s Carnivorous Bells, a self-described “cave prog” project featuring (former?) Merchandise guitarist David Vassalotti. Even absent the sax-skronk swirling about their January LP Room Above All, Vassalotti’s always-inventive six-string work and the frenzied mannerisms of vocalist Matthew Adis distinguished their mutant post-punk.

Locals ICU kicked off the night with a brief blast of their ultra-fast hardcore, which was a great stage-setter. See photos from all three sets below.