I got a copy of Yank Crime on cd in 2006 and it blew me away. Drive Like Jehu sounded like nothing else I was listening to at the time and I've found too few bands since who take inspiration from them. Along with Black Eyes, they're at the top of the list of bands that I wish new bands were completely ripping off, because I'd definitely go to see such a band.
For the usual reasons (not finding the album in shops, apathy and laziness), two years passed before I got their self-titled debut album. Some years later I remarked to someone that I nearly enjoyed it as much as Yank Crime and they responded "well, of course" - in their mind the two were entirely equal, but the self-titled album had been a much slower burn for me. It didn't help that I didn't (and still don't) have mp3s of this album, so it's had a fraction of the plays that Yank Crime has had, not to mention the two year head-start. These days I'd consider Yank Crime amongst my favourite albums of all time (not top ten, but top 50 for sure) but I still don't feel I know this one well enough. Maybe that's sign I don't actually enjoy it as much; I enjoy it, just less so.
It's got some great songs, but nothing that hit as hard as Luau or Do You Compute. I almost wish I'd got this one first so it wouldn't have to be compared to it's younger sibling so much. I'm certain it still would have blown me away, but there's definitely the possibility that it'd have been longer before getting their other album. Step on Chameleon, O Pencil Sharp and If It Kills You are all huge songs. Maybe I'm just friends with the wrong people, but I feel like everyone should be constantly talking about how great these two albums are.
Of course, it's now impossible to think about Drive Like Jehu without the associated disappointment of the cancelled ATP festival - partly because I've still never seen DLJ but also because it marked the very final and, let's be honest, somewhat overdue demise of ATP. I'd been to a bunch of All Tomorrow's Parties festivals over the years and discovered more incredible bands than I care to think of - they defined my twenties more than any other musical institution, and I wish I'd started going even sooner. But by the end the cracks were substantial - I forgave them for the Jabberwocky catastrophe; I'd joked beforehand that I'd pay £35 to see any two of the bands on that bill and, lo and behold, in the end I paid £35 to see two precisely of those bands play a last minute make-up show (Neutral Milk Hotel and The Ex, so a great pair. It was the best of the four times I saw NMH because the crowd was largely not a "London crowd"; that is, people actually showed some emotion and got into it). I commented at the time that I really didn't expect them to call my bluff like that, the bastards (what were they thinking with the Dyson Airblade comments!?).
When the DLJ festival came around, I couldn't resist temptation and gave ATP another chance. We booked tickets and a week beforehand I booked my train ticket. The next day the other weekend ATP had organised (ha!) had started and talk of the bands not getting paid spread. A few days later, the whole thing went tits up and the festival was no more. We got our ticket money back, but not the train fare. I have no issue with Drive Like Jehu about this - if I knew I was going to get paid I definitely wouldn't get on an 11-hour flight and they were right to cancel. But I came so close to seeing them live and it still stings that I haven't. Funnily enough, they're also at the top of that list - the list of bands I've not had the chance to see and really, really wish I could (along with Black Eyes, again, and Hum and The Murder City Devils). One day, I really hope one day I will get to see them. I'm sure it will be incredible.
Format: 12"
Tracks: 9
Cost: £6.50 new
Bought: Generation Records, New York
When: 11/04/08
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
