The Old Noise

AMG Review of The Old Noise

Jason Ankeny
All Music Guide

Seemingly Canada's response to Ween, Jerk With a Bomb could well have ended up the answer to a question nobody asked, but move beyond the duo's silly noms-de-rock (One Easy Skag and the Silo, respectively) and their sophomore effort, The Old Noise, reveals itself to be a surprisingly heartfelt stab at slow-motion alternative country, delivered with genuine grit and sincerity. Jerk With a Bomb's simple guitar'n'drums approach forgoes the polished chicanery of Ween, They Might Be Giants, and other goof-ock twosomes, at times instead recalling the gothic twang of another duo, the all-but-forgotten House of Freaks; an odd but complementary /p>

ew wave influence courses through the disc, disrupting the overall rustic minimal tenor at just the right moments.