Yank Crime

3.25 - I liked this a lot for a first listen.

Probably closer to 3 stars for me--but it's also the album that launched a bunch of records of my youth (not on this list) that I'd give 4 stars...so makes sense to give this 4 too.

Never heard of this band before.

Wonderful punk

Hardcore noise rock is not for me. This was just tiring. Every song sounded the same and, invariably, lasted a minute or two longer than it needed to.

So edgy it’s serrated.

This is the type of stuff i signed up for. Its great.

Interesting...but not really for me - at least listening. At a punk club or live I know I'd dig it.

Heavy and hectic, there's a time and place for this.. But it's not often.

3/5

Sunday, 13 September, 2026 Great album. Solid guitar work. Interesting sound. A little long. These 90s albums all think you want more. Less is always better.

Sounds like a lot of local bands in the 90s but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Could really use some editing tho

The unfortunate 3.5 from me

Had not heard of them, was great to hear a precursor to Pup, Turnstile, etc.

fucking fuck I hate the middle of this album The opening and closing parts are amazing, and then theres the 6/10 middle bah

This is so in-your-face-awesome! I've never heard Drive Like Jehu before, but I love this!!! What a nice surprise. Liked Songs Added: Here Come The Rome Plows Luau New Math Sinews

Wasn't the vibe for me yesterday maybe another listen will push it to 4 stars but yea it was definitely good.

Some good songs but the album is too long and I lost interest. Maybe a 2.5

"Luau" did not need to be 9 minutes, this is that Chicago song bullshit all over again.

I've had some low points during the last 3+ years of listening to albums via this site, but this rivals The Cramps album as the single worst listening experience of my life. I heard a dying fox years ago, it had been hit by a car and was slowly dying in the road. It couldn't move and there was blood everywhere. That was better than every track on this album!

It’s super easy to put off a punk record, especially when it is made by a band that really didn’t make a whole lot of records. But when Jehu’s at the wheel, its a punk rock blast. So many songs on here are so long, with some crazy Tom Morello-esque effects on them as well (luau 7:45 sounds like flightreacts), but that doesn’t stop them from being generally enjoyable. Solid record but it really isn’t anything more.

Zarąbiste, jeszcze do dosłuchania, ale 4-5

It wasn’t the worst, but I didn’t like it. Some songs sounded so repetitive and were quite annoying actually. Will not revisit this.

Meh. Too long, nothing interesting going on besides a few non 4/4 time signatures

Like, I get where it's coming from, but that doesn't change the fact that it physically hurt my ears to listen to at some points.

Nice

Had its moments, not awful, but just middle of the pack for me.

Not sure what I'm missing here. Definitely some bright spots musically but I have a set peeve about music with vocals I can't quote hear or make out what the lyrics are. A few songs needed to be half as long as they droned on for.

Good lord, this goes incredibly hard. Great music for the shitty day I'm having. I love the guitar work. It's atonal without being annoying. The songs all have a nice buildup.

Overall Rating - 2.36/5 (4.73/10). Definitely not music I enjoy or ever listen to.

Wasn’t sure about this album right away, but the more I listened the more I enjoyed it.

Nothing to write home about but I did enjoy it for the most part.

Soooo I went from my own personal listening of NOFX to this. Which really isn’t that much of a change. It’s pink on some sort of level. There’s no swearing so it’s not bad ass punk but it’s punk still. Not like Green Day who are more lesbian punk as in they suck and aren’t in a punk genre. I didn’t get any bangers out of this one either but it’s still worth the listen

Meh

I did not not this band, very good album.

Based on the New Math, my Human Interest in this album is lacking. Do You Compute?

This was fire!!! A crazy Slint, Fugazi, and At The Drive-In mix. This is the exact kind of album that makes listening to 1000 other British bullshit albums worth it. This album sits on an island, alienated in time from a couple scenes, with no band follow-up and limited fame from anyone involved. It would have been hard to discover without this list. This is some real PUT SOME HAIR ON YOUR CHEST music

Rate: 8.5/10.

good album its hads 2-4 good songs fabulous?

we're raspy today it seems

inaspettato

Noisy, angry, energetic, kickass. I had never heard of this band and hardly heard of them outise of this. This is actually a pretty good album, complex in an interesting way, not very accessible, true, but I never got the feeling I was listening to amateurs. All of this while being a genre I'm usually not into. Key tracks: Here Come the Rome Plows

This album paved the way for a lot of current emo bands that I enjoy.

I feel like this is like the Velvet Underground’s early days where nobody heard of these guys but the few that did were profoundly changed and all started more famous bands.

4 out of 5. This album is a great new discovery courtesy of this challenge and I'm here for it.

I thought it was a solid album, heavy rock, maybe early metal. The playlist it generated afterwards was solid too.

basic punk rock

Meh, lots of noise, not a lot of substance.

Það voru sprettir framan þar sem ég hugsaði "Þetta er nú ekki alslæmt, mögulega næ ég að toga þetta í tvist", en svo var þetta svo hrikalega langt og mónótón að sú bjartsýni fjaraði út. Alls ekki það versta sem ég hef heyrt, en nálægt botninum á þessum lista engu að síður.

I have been sick and have only managed to get a listen via YouTube on an iPad, but this might just be my find of the 1001 so far. I was aware of them (I was a RFTC fan and knew they were linked) but I’d never investigated the linage. It’s got an impressive dissonance and a powerful and engaging vocal assault and seems tight AF. I also got into Trumans Water (also San Diego) and I could hear some similarities there too. I will be returning to this properly but I can already give it a sweet score.

This goes so hard

Meh. Lots of screaming.

I can appreciate how a lot of people might enjoy the frenzied aggression of this but I just don’t like shouty music, it gets annoying after a very short period of time. More frustratingly there are moments on this album where the shouting subsides and the music is actually decent, but they don’t last and the incoherent shouting resumes. Contrary to what some of the other reviewers say it’s not that I don’t get it, it’s that I don’t like it.

Loud black pearl, occasionally 10 things I hate about you soundtrack vibes Good volume and beat defo a headbanger but still soft rock

Another completely new one to me... And I'm amazed. This would have been right up my alley in the 90's. I'm kinda sad it wasn't. I like it now, but I would have absolutely loved it then. Those guitars are so sick together and I like that the songs go long (Luau was so great). There's a lot to digest here and I'm sure I'll listen and analyze more, but I know there's enough here to give it a 5, easy.

Based on the title and artist name I worried I was in for another lame British ska or postpunk record. Relieved that it’s Californian alt rock with a slight hardcore bent but also this album did not make much of an impression and I doubt I’ll ever encounter anyone discussing it again in my life.

Definitively not my cup of tea, there was the occasional respite where some semblance of musicality crept in but it was all too brief

1.4/5 I unfortunately I didn't really like this album. It seems a lot of reviewers said that it's a struggle at first but once it clicks, it clicks. I wish I had time to keep listening to this album but I don't, but maybe in the future I'll give this the time it needs.

sinews is my favorite.

Fantastic stuff. Baffling that I haven't heard of them before. I'll listen to this many more times.

Most songs were far to erratic for me. There were a few moments in songs where I didn't mind but this didn't vibe with me at all.

Man, remember when music deemed good (i.e. this list) was the music that sounded good? What happened, Dimery? The minimalist album art, mention of the genre "post-hardcore", and low streaming numbers do not inspire much hope in the listener. If Yank Crime ends up being good, it'll be a pleasant surprise, and one should still believe that it absolutely does not belong on such a high-calibre list. Unfortunately, though Drive Like Jehu gives us a surprise, it's far from pleasant. As another user beautifully described it: " I don't know what to say other than this sucked hugely. Just noise and screaming from the get-go... There is no reason this made anyone's top 1001 other than shock value. This is crap and sounds like an album they gave away at their show where they played in front of 35 people on a Tuesday night. Every song sounds essentially the same, 100 mph and screaming nonsensical lyrics over and over." Here Come the Rome Plows starts off with an experimental approach to rock, placing what could be a pretty good idea for a rhythm behind a thick layer of noise that can't quite decide on a key centre. The tale of how not to compose or record music if you want anybody to enjoy it. It's extremely understandable that this is by far the most popular track on the album (sitting at 2.1 million streams on Spotify), because most people probably listened to it for a minute or two before giving up on the whole record. Do You Compute is definitely an improvement – at least we get thrown a guitar melody that sounds like it could've been devised by a legitimate musician. Nice guitar riff (though it gets old fast) and some cool nods to emo rock with the vocals, particularly in the middle section, but the rest of the song is deliberately bad. They aren't even trying to hide it. And all these 5-star reviewers are falling for the lie. Golden Brown experiments with a lighter, more punky mood that, for the most part, works. It still leaves a lot to be desired in terms of melody, hooks, any memorable parts, any form of album progression (all songs have very similar energy so far). Luau doesn't change that, and despite the many reviews suggesting this one'll change your life, my life feels pretty darn static right now listening to this 9-minute slog. At least it respects the rule of long songs: that is, switch it up, dang it. Section 2, beginning about halfway through, removes the dense, overbearing texture of the distorted rhythm guitar, replacing it with a sort of improvisational vocals-and-drums section that ends up being the most listenable stretch of music on the album thus far. The guitar solo starts off decently but verges off into noise rock, and we're just a little too late into the 90s for that genre to be considered revolutionary. I didn't realise just how horrifically bad the vocals were until I was handed a slightly better rendition of them in Super Unison. Unfortunately the rest of the instruments fail to deliver on anything memorable – not even one single melodic idea I can recite to my friends to convince them this band is worth a single second of their time. Such is Yank Crime, I suppose. New Intro then, bizarrely, squeaks its way into the upper tier of this album for being surprisingly passable as a sort of ambient piece. Lacking those vocals, it turns out, is pretty helpful for this band. New Math, Human Interest, and (later) Hand over Fist are pretty uninteresting overall – reminiscent of some grunge stuff from earlier in the decade, but clearly lesser on harmonic and melodic grounds. (Cool outro to Hand over Fist, though.) Sinews starts promisingly with a series of gloomy-yet-chill guitar ideas, before exploding into atonal material typical of the rest of the album. New to the mix are some high-pitched synthetic whistles (à la Sheer Heart Attack, Queen, 1977), and they're annoying as heck. Dang it, Drive Like Jehu, don't give me hopes and dreams of good music if you're going to crush those dreams seven minutes later. The final song, Bullet Train to Vegas, easily makes my highlights list simply because it's the last, and shortest, track on the album. Also, it makes me think of Nirvana's Territorial Pissings and the Monkees' Last Train to Clarksville (both excellent songs). Easily 1 star, and it's not close at all. I would give it fewer if I could – to reflect my (lack of) willingness to listen to any more of this type of music, and also to counterbalance the shockingly numerous 3-, 4-, and 5-star reviews. As I like to say: "Just because music is bad doesn't mean it's good." 1/5 Key tracks: New Intro, Bullet Train to Vegas

Energetic, angry, emotional, melodic. Basically the kind of thing I like a lot, and the kind of album that influenced other music I like a lot.

A lovely slice of post hardcore loveliness

Kann ich mir nicht geben

I've never heard of this song or band before, but I really enjoyed it! Really fun energy all throughout and I really liked the math-rock elements.

No ni un poco pero simpático viste

Not good not bad. Weird.

I perceived this as noise. Too hard core for me

I liked Luau, otherwise okay

eh, okay

My, this is a noisy one. Yank Crime is rough, loud, abrasive, and very clearly supposed to be that way. This feels like the kind of album you’re meant to turn up way too loud and just let the screaming and guitars wash over you. And for 1994, it’s interesting hearing something this aggressive that isn’t quite grunge, but still feels completely at home in that era. And honestly, I enjoyed it quite a bit. There are some really cool guitar sounds and melodies buried underneath all that noise, and when everything comes together, the chaos can be pretty exciting. That being said, this is definitely a “once you know, you know” kind of album. After the first couple tracks, I pretty much understood what the rest was going to sound like. There’s screaming. There’s noise. The singer is clearly not having a particularly relaxing afternoon. And while there are interesting moments throughout, the overall mood and approach don’t change a whole lot. Still, I liked hearing where this kind of sound was going. You can hear pieces of hardcore and post-hardcore here, but I could also connect some of it to the much more emotional, aggressive side of emo that would become bigger over the next decade or so. Not an album with a ton of variety, but definitely an interesting and enjoyable blast of noise.

What a kick in the dick this album is. It demands your attention, frantic, noisy, chaotic energy throughout. It's interesting the different genres Death Like Jehu gets accredited with, considered one of the best Emo albums of all time, best Post Hardcore, Post-Punk. It's definitely more complex than a straight up Punk album. Sure it sounds like a noisy mess if you're not paying attention but if you're paying attention you understand how pre-meditated this whirlwind of frenetic chaos was. This is fantastic as was their debut. 5 stars

I am become boomer. This is just noise

*old woman yells at cloud* Why must there be so much screaming? Closest thing to a standout track was New Math, but I'd like to never hear this album again. Rating: 1

This is bleaker than an afternoon in the middle of January. 3/5

Clearly a big influence on At The Drive in. There is a lot to like but it’s not without its flaws, it’s too long because the songs are too long, they lose immediacy and impact by dragging on. 3.1

Really enjoyable. High energy, abrasive with weird wee sections dotted around some cool riffs and melodies. Good drumming too.

Yup, I'm still not a post-punk fan. This isn't so much music as yelling and screeching. I liked the intro to Do You Compute....but then the "singing" started.

This was actually nice, will listen again

Lots of grating, annoying and numbingly repetitive guitar sounds. 1.45 stars

Not my jam

Interesting sound. Never heard of this band. Nothing really stood out but a good record

A lot of punk and noise with fewer decining features than one would hope for.

This album is true to what it is: punk, noise rock. There are aspects I find okay, but the occasional sound of my phone buzzing or loooong interludes of quietness is a real drawback.

Je me suis senti agressé de bon matin. J'avais pas encore pris mon café ça va pas du tout. Mais bon les guitares envoient du paté de fou. Une fois mon café fini ça va mieux ! J'aime bieng même si ça reste mid. Ouais bon c'est long en fait. Il y a des bons passages, même très bons, mais ptn qu'est ce que je me suis fait chier dans l'ensemble (le genre me parle pas là mais si ça se trouve c'est un truc auquel je pourrais accrocher en m'y intéressant plus) J'ai adoré Super Unison & Do you compute

Hyper spécial, un peu chelou mais étonnamment j'ai bien kiffé par moment

Blind album and artist. Big fan of the longer tracks honestly. I hear the math emo style clear as day, and it didnt phase me actually. Hooked me better than I thought it would. 4.

Oh man, I had a blast listening to this record. Full punkish/emo energy.

I like the drums and like the guitar, but I’m just not a big fan of the yelling. Overall, an okay album.

I saw Rocket From the Crypt live when they opened for Soundgarden. They were okay, but that's unfair because they opened for Soundgarden in their prime. This was much, much worse than RFtC. Is it on the list because it's punk but with really long songs? I don't get it. Feels like poor man's Suicide Machines. No, thank you.

This was very loud and not very nice. I was quite drawn in for the first couple of tracks, when I thought maybe it would be fun to have your head repeatedly drilled by noise, but ultimately it's quite tiring really.

Super fun never heard of this band before, and to be honest, I don't really know what emo is, but if it's like this, it's punk, and that's Aok. in my book.

I didn’t really enjoy it much.

крутой

Kept waiting for some lyrics……. Waiting……… waiting Waiting……..

nah

Not my style. 4/10

This is not for everyone, but it is 100 percent for me. Noisy, rough around the edges. Feedback laden sound. Never heard of these guys before now, but am glad that I do now. I feel like this informs so much of what I listen to now. An unexpected gem for me. 5/5

Straight off, I was reminder of the explosion of Punk Rock in 1976. No, not Sex Pistols, or Stranglers, or Clash, or Ruts, etc. It reminded me of the spotty local teens who believed the "everyone can do it" ethos, practised for an hour, then had a gig at the local school hall. More enthusiasm and energy than ability and artistry. 30 minutes of local fame, then oblivion. Yank Crime / Drive Like Jehu gave me the same vibe. After 4 songs, I game up, grateful that it wasn't another Rap album.

Loved this, a little jarring but I think I'm not used to the list throwing things like this at me so it was surprising Playlist add: "New Math"

Another one I’ve never heard of. By the sound of it, a weird entry. Loud yelling punk. Might be too early in the morning for this. Just a muddled loud obnoxious sound. Hate it early on. Why are the songs SO LONG. 7 minute angry rock jammer. Why. Some of the more straight forward punk songs are okay but it’s still just too noisy. It seems to grow into a sound that’s less annoying to me but it’s never something I really enjoy much. I don’t mind the sound of Luau, but it’s a song that overstays its welcome by a few minutes. This is going to be a 1. Not for me. There’s some flashes of interesting stuff over the course of the album but it’s all too long and overall don’t like the loudness of this sound. It’s muddled ugly guitars and an annoying yelling vocal style I don’t care for. In instances when there’s some interesting music, it doesn’t last long or it’s forgotten.

So sick. More of this please.

Yes, finally, yes. This is much more like it, thank you website. Is this the best thing I've ever heard? No. But did I enjoy it? Abso-fucking-lutely. Finally an abum that properly makes me feel something and move my body around. Tapping my foot and headbanging through the whole hour. That is a small point of criticism though, it's quite long. This won't be a record I will get back to often, cause it can drag during the instrumental parts. I do miss a catchy melody here and there. I know that's the point of the album, because it's post-hardcore genre asks for it to be a bit unconventional, but on the B side I just kind of found myself ready for it to end. Enjoyed it, respect it, I will take this 10/10 times over that 80's crap we've been getting non-stop, but not something I'm expecting to return to any time soon.

Now this is music. In short this album really made me want to burn my house down. But the lyrica were sometimes hard to understand or in my opinion quite bland and uninteresting. Because of tjat though it made me want to burn my house down it did not make me want to burn my exes house down hence it gets three stars.

5⭐️

Absolutely not for me. Don’t even really know why but I did not enjoy at all. Might have to give it another go in case I was just in a bad mood :D

I didn't hate it, really, but I just feel tired after listening to a whole album of this kind of thing.

Intelligent, controlled thrashing on the corner of math rock street and post-hardcore avenue.

this is one of the best albums this list has turned me onto.. blown away.

2.5 This kind of dragged for me, and I found a lot of the songs really blended together

7/10

People listen to this? Voluntarily? For amusement? And survive?

Ripppppper. Noisy and abrupt. Instruments on here all sound so good.

Damn, this is a solid album.

Awful noise, awful vocals

I'm torn on where to rate this album. On one hand it's abrasive, and the production is very noisy in a way that isn't appeal pleasant to the ears. On the other hand I appreciate the energy and punch that this style of music delivers. So I'm going with a 3.

"Yank Crime" is a punk rock or noise rock album by Drive Like Jehu band. I absolutely love this album. I love the production level of this album. The album is very noisy and rusty, I love the guitar and drum that makes me hooked on this album. I love the way vocalist sing on this album. The first half of the album is just perfect with banger tracks like "Here Come the Rome Plows", "Golden Brown" and "Luau" for me. Later half slows down a bit with least favorite tracks for me "New Intro" and "Human Interest". Overall good album by Drive Like Jehu with wonderful instrumental sounds and songs. But I feel some songs drag a bit too long which wasn't needed.

This is a very strong album with a real personality. While listening I felt the full force of that intense, hardcore energy — it’s aggressive, chaotic, and incredibly tight all at the same time. The band has this unique, mathy, noisy post-hardcore sound that feels completely their own. The riffs are sharp and unpredictable, the rhythms are wild but precise, and the whole record hits with real power and attitude. It’s energetic and raw without ever feeling sloppy. Yank Crime is easily one of the best in that early-90s underground scene. If you like aggressive, creative, and passionate rock that doesn’t hold back, this one delivers. A standout album that still sounds fresh and powerful today.

368/1089 hmmm, i’m actually kinda liking the noisiness of this first track? something about it is scratching the right specific itch quite liked Luau but then the drone-y sound at the start of Super Unison was a bit much for me overall, this pleasantly surprised me actually. i expected not to be super into it but i did quite enjoy it faves: here come the rome cows, do you compute, luau 70/100

I can smell their live shows, and I now have TB just from envisioning them. This sounds like something Nirvana was striving to be, and in coming up short improved it.

I'll say this - this did not sound like 1994 to me. That's pretty awesome. I like this, and it was good - it just wasn't my mood today. I could really get behind this on a day that wasn't rainy and stormy. I'll definitely come back. 7/22/26

It's rad

Emo was great before it got bastardised into what it became

never heard of these guys and post-hardcore isn't a genre i really listen to much but this album is pretty good. i enjoy the sound, overdriven guitars always appeal to me and there's some interesting time signature stuff in a couple places too (eg. "do you compute", "sinews"). there's some interesting stuff going on here. but despite that i guess i'm just not seeing what makes this notable. maybe i just don't have enough experience with post-hardcore as a genre. its pretty good but..... is it *that* good? i'm not so sure.........

First song made me think I wasn't going to like this album. Guitar was too high pitched squealy (not a great mix on that song?) and the vocals were too screamy for my taste. However Do You Compute brought me back in.

Loved the first 15 seconds before the singer comes in

I’d never heard of them, and theirs is not a style of music I like. I couldn’t listen past the first few songs (and I skipped through each of those). Musically interesting, but another album ruined for me by screaming and yelling vocals. I don’t think I’ll like what I assume will be future hardcore, post punk albums either. But we shall see.

This is just supremely my shit.

I get it, it feels like a noisy evolution of Fugazi, but I'm not really into it.

YELLING! ABRASIVE GUITARS! EMOTIONS! TWO MINUTES OF HIGH PITCHED DIAL TONE! MORE YELLING!!! FOR LIKE 9 MINUTES PER SONG AND 52 MINUTES TOTAL!!! Just terrible.

trop cool, ça cri, ça chante, ça dénonce. J’adore.

Rating: 5.0/5 Short Review: Ferocious, intricate, and completely uncompromising. This album sounds like it’s constantly on the verge of flying apart, yet every jagged riff and rhythmic left turn is exactly where it should be. It became a cult classic for a reason. Favorite Track: “Do You Compute.” Seven minutes of controlled chaos. It never settles, and that’s exactly what makes it unforgettable.

Very interesting record

not music et all.

I like this one a lot. Looks like the About the artist section on Spotify was written by one "Hollywood" Steve Huey.

This was alright. I'm not the biggest hardcore, but I did enjoy a lot of the structure of these tracks. Math rock sounding kind of post-hardcore whatever you want to call it. I can dig it. Didn't love the vocalist. I would've enjoyed these more if they were just instrumental. The best tracks were those largely without vocals... I was honestly a bit disappointed whenever the dude started belting out lines.

not as good as Joni Mitchell’s Blue

So noise. Much scream. I kinda like 'Luau', actually.

I loved Rocket From The Crypt and was delighted to get this other work from john Reiss. It is flat out garage noise with vocals that are little more than a squark, but i really enjoyed it! I could have done without the first 20 seconds of ‘Super Unison’ but i really enjoyed the contrast that occurs throughout this song as it blend ms into something more reflective. The more laid back side is carried into ‘New Intro’ a more relaxed instrumental that has me worrying that the energy of the earlier album has gone but ‘new math’ quickly allays that fear. Strangely my main issue with this album is that the tracks felt too long at times. The style suits something a bit punchier and shorter

This was absolutely dire. It was too long. The mix was dreadful, making the vocal barely audible - which was probably a blessing as, when it was audible, it was terrible. The sheer amount of feedback startled my dog on more than one occasion. Awful.

A band that, given the music I was into in the 90s, you'd think I'd have heard a lot of, but I've never really listened to Drive Like Jehu before. This despite being aware of them because of a deep love of Rocket From The Crypt (John Reis, guitarist of DLJ, became Speedo, guitarist and singer in RFTC). I enjoyed this a lot, but because the guitar was so reminiscent of RFTC in places, I found myself wishing John Reis was singing rather than Rick Froberg. That's not to say he was bad at all, and his screamy vocals worked great with the guitars, but I just love the vocals in RFTC. I will say that they needed to learn brevity. Luau as the worst offender is far far far far too long, which coupled with the screamy siren sound you hear the moment it ends and Super Unison starts, was A LOT. But generally I'd have enjoyed everything were each track nearer 4 minutes than 8. Discovering than one of the band now owns a donut shop where many of the flavours are named after bands (X-ray Speculoos!) was deeply enjoyable. I spent ages trying to decide on a score. I really liked the sound, but the length of some tracks was such a deal breaker for me because there wasn't enough movement of sound to justify 9 minute songs. Just know that in my heart, this score has a 0.5 added to it: 3/5

This was my personality for a while in college

I liked what I perceived through my headache (not causally linked), will revisit

I really can’t get down

definitely some transcendent moments but more often than not I like the idea of this more than the album itself

This is not my genre of rock. The songs all pretty much sound dull and the same and many of them go on way too long

Didn't enjoy

This is a really special record, but I'm not gonna lie, it demands a little work from the listener. This is genealogically an emo album, but it has a lot of post-hardcore, noise rock, and some proto-mathcore too. For the uninitiated, Yank Crime was Drive Like Jehu's second and last album, and it is an emo album in kind of the "DC Emotional Hardcore/Screamo" sense, although the kind of sour melody construction here, some of the guitar work, and the ultra-emotive vocals are definitely recognizable as more familiar emo on some level. Although Yank Crime burns way nastier than the midwest emo of the time, or the pop-punk stuff from the 2000s. But, even compared to the rest of the sound they kind of slot into, Drive Like Jehu's Yank Crime is kind of it's own beast, and I think some of it is that they play this album almost like a noise rock record, just through their performances and soundscapes. But regardless of how it happened, Yank Crime is kind of a legendary, untouchable classic for a lot of people, and it was *really* influential to a laundry list of incredibly cool bands. I've listened to this a good couple of times in my life, and every time I like it more. Honestly, the very first time I checked it out, I barely even understood what they were doing. Yank Crime is a dense enough record that I honestly think it's almost impossible to appreciate on first listen, in a way that reminds me of an album like Jane Doe by Converge. It's a combination of the sprawling song structures, skronky riffs, and the chaotic sound. But once it "unlocks", you can't really go back. I've listened to this like three times today, and it *actually*, *honestly* gets better every time. At this point, I basically think that every discrete song is pretty much a self-contained masterpiece of intensity and precision. They were just operating on a nearly *unattainable* level of consistency, creativity, and construction here. And once you start peeling back the layers of difficulty here, you really start to see just how much melody and dynamics are baked into their sound. Eventually you realize that this is *really* catchy stuff. Even mangled barnburners like Here Come The Rome Plows and Golden Brown. As odd as it sounds, I actually think think that the longer songs here are kind of the way in for newcomers. Stuff like Luau, Do You Compute, and Sinews stretch the sound out a little, and even if the components aren't really easier to listen to, they bring the dynamics of this album forward, and give you just a little breathing room that kind of serves as the doorway to figuring out what the hell is going on with this thing (note that I have excluded Super Unison, because, while it's one of the better songs here, with some of the best passages on the entire project, it *does* begin with 28, uninterrupted seconds of excruciating, genuinely piercing feedback that *will* scare people off, if only due to the physical pain it can cause if you aren't expecting it). This is one of the albums here that I *really* implore you give a few listens. It's also an album where, if you don't like it, I probably can't convince you that it's actually a jawdropping masterpiece of the genre. It's something where I think you need to choose to embark on the journey the album sets forth, and it really forces you to come to your own conclusions. *But*, if you *do* decide to go on that journey, and if it *does* grow on you, I genuinely think that Yank Crime is one of the most rewarding albums in the entire lineage of punk music.

They ruined some interesting musical ideas with whiny screaming over everything. It’s bad enough when this shit is 2 minutes long. But the fact that half of the songs are longer than 5 minutes makes this one an awful listen.

Nooit van gehoord… prima

Hard, intricate, progressive, abrasive..... I 100% see why this would be on a list like this. Perhaps it clicks with you or opens a new door musically you didn't know existed. I can see how this was a precursor to a scene that would develop and become something almost entirely different and way more popular. I SHOULD love this. I don't. This has the same problem a lot of the hardcore, post hardcore, emocore, etc have: horrible vocals. This is a prime example of why there should be half stars or be a 10 point system. This isn't bad yet I don't think its good either. 2 would imply its bad and 3 would mean its good. 2.5

When this record came out in 1994, this is exactly the kind of thing I spent most of my waking hours listening to, so I'm surprised to say I've never heard of this band or this record. Or at least, if I have, I've completely forgotten about them. I enjoyed listening to it, even if it's not something I tend to reach for much these days, but I'm not sure I understand why it's on the list. I think this kind of thing was done better by others, but maybe I only think that because I'm 30 years older and somehow missed out on this record first time round. Some records, you just need to be in with at the time for them to resonate years later - maybe I missed out, maybe I didn't.

Being a little familiar with Drive Like Jehu I was initially pleased to see/hear this on the list. It's blast of slightly out-of-kilter hardcore was certainly a pleasant change from what I have recently listened to on this list, but... I am not convinced it deserves its' place here. Many of the tracks just lack the oomph I really want, either just a fraction too sedate or frankly too meandering. though it's far from perfect their self-titled album is better in my book.

It definitely sounds like a precursor to Emo music. It has the Hardcore Punk sound and sort of screamy vocals that characterized the genre. It's an amazing album! It is a hidden gem and is criminally underrated! More people should definitely listen to Drive Like Jehu! Especially this album!

70

Punk albums where people know how to play their instruments are always solid.

Really makes u want to move as u listen to this album. The tempo and the use of guitar and drums are particularly good here. Made me really want to get up and dance when it just starts to thrash. Only thing I would like more of is variety, have some more hills and valleys and that would really boost this up for me. Otherwise really enjoyed. Fab Track: Golden Brown

usually wouldn’t like this as much but the punk vibe was helpful for today. was really good

Неизвестная группа. Обычный гранж/хардкор. Ничего выдающегося на мой взгляд

Really raw 90's punk. If it was a steak it would still be mooing - that's how raw it is. I like the musicality of the album. It is an album that you have to be in the mood for, but still, it is a really solid piece of work

I really liked this one. Post hardcore, noise rock. Had a Jesus Lizard, Boris "Pink", DC hardcore vibe going on. Maybe not an instant classic, but this will definitely be going into regular rotation.

I love the chaos and punk vibes of this record. It reminds me of some rage against the machine vibes but a little more raw almost. However I do think this album gets a bit long.

Much better than I was expecting. starts of really strong and then gets a bit derivative and emo in the middle

Probably won’t continue exploring this but it was decent. Definitely can hear where they may have influenced future bands.

Some times I get lost in all the genres and sub-genres, never really know exactly what they mean. “They” call this post-hardcore, but I just call it a really good hard rock record. It’s part punk, part alternative, there are elements of grunge. All to be expected for 1994. But there’s also something else that I can’t quite put my finger on. Maybe that’s the post-hardcore part. But it’s really really good. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and it makes me want to delve deeper into whatever post-hardcore supposedly is.

Liked it a lot. Kind of proto-emo

That sucked!!!!!!

Nyt on taas monella tapaa hyvä levy. Post-hardcorea. Kappaleet on rakenteeltaan aika erikoisia ja vaihtelevia, melodiat ajoittain tosi siistejä ja välillä hirveetä noisea, rummut on jotenkin tosi modernin kuuloiset. Tässä on tiettyä vaaran tuntua. Parhaat: Golden Brown, Sinews, Do You Compute, Luau

Chaotic but not in a good way for me 1.8/10

At first it seemed like it was just noise. In the end it seemed like it was just the beginning.

Kinda makes me angry for some reason. Nice guitars tho

It's like Fugazi but without the intriguing lyrics nor the fractured instrumentation. Not my jam. 2/5

I don't think this genre is for me. Not only are the songs bloated but the screaming and sound walls disintegrate the sound so that it becomes akin to...just sound.

Fire.

they tried for a sound and missed it

Didn’t finish this. Obviously not in the right mood for it today as I like some similar bands but was just finding this a headache and had better things to listen to.

Another interesting album I'd never heard before, might grow to appreciate more over a longer period but will likely not listen to again

Just didn't click with me

It's new to me. Never even heard of it. First listen....yup....can see why. Big thumbs up to me 22 years ago for giving this a miss. Awful. Can't see what is unique about this noise to warrant inclusion on the list either. 1

Not for me

Life is too short to listen to music you don’t like and never will like.

Hardcore is not really my jam, but I enjoyed some moments on this album.

I really don't like this.

Neat album, harder than I expected.

I'm not normally into screamy-McScreamy stuff, but this was absolutely brilliant. Post-hardcore? Proto-emo? I don't care. Five stars.

6/10 There's a lot to like about this record. It's weighty, gritty and full of drive, and you can really hear the influence on bands that would follow, like At The Drive In and Glassjaw. There are also moments that reminded me of Nirvana at their most deliberately confrontational. There are some really solid riffs in there, and the vocalist does a great job of sounding passionate and controlled, while pushing his vocal to a deliberately crunchy and ragged state. The band build great soundscapes out of washes of feedback and creative effect use and do their best to bring range through an ebb and flow of punch, while rarely losing the throbbing intensity inherent within their sound. Unfortunately, there were times that, despite those efforts to introduce range, certain sections with shorter riffs did occasionally become a little repetitive and relentless in a way that made thing drag a touch. The album is also very fixed to a somewhat limited tone, with even the opposite ends of the dynamic range having a very similar grubby sheen that, while unifying the tone of the record, does start to feel a little oppressive after a while on what is quite a lengthy collection. It's kind of a shame because it feels like a lot of the ideas are very good, but ended up becoming a little too stretched out and, while I liked it well enough, it didn't do enough to push it beyond that level. Here Come The Rome Plows - It's a fierce and intense start with beefy bottom end and some cool riffs using different time signatures, which adds an unsettled quality to it that matches the vibe really well. Despite that, there are times when it gets locked in a touch too much and it could probably do with a little bit more range in its intensity. But it's a promising jumping off point and the grimy production and solid, tight musicianship have got me hooked in. Do You Compute - It's a slower burn of an intro now and while the vibe and sound design is cool, I do find it to be musically a touch swampy and undefined in places. There's a bit more dynamic range, which is good, and when it settles into more defined riff work half way through, it definitely starts to find its feet. The sweeps of feedback are cool and create an unsettling sound palette that I like. This definitely grew on me as it went on. Golden Brown - This is more like it straight off the bat. The pace and drive if this is excellent, and some cool riffs force their way through the grime with punch and intent. The breakdowns they use add cool moments of respite into the work and that pulsing, powerful bass anchors it really well. There's some fantastic hardcore drum work in there too. Luau - I expect we're in for a bit of a journey here on a 9 minute track. It's dirty and intense, but they're not going full beans to begin with and there a cool pulsing groove to the beat. With the 3/4 time, it's like the swamp waltz, which is interesting. There's some good stuff in here, but honestly, I'm not sure it does enough to justify that runtime. They do move through sections reasonably well, and there are some lovely arpeggiations and pieces of harmonic work and experimentation with feedback, but it does get a bit stuck in a loop for a bit too long for my tastes. Super Unison - That is a long, high-pitched note to start. Bit too much for me. After that it has a cool pulse and has a nice ebb and flow to it, adding a bit of extra musical dimension to it. It's still insistent and driving though and even the slower parts have a nice bit of rolling tension to them. It's a bit more overtly melodic in places, which is a nice evolution of the sound. Pretty good stuff. New Intro - A nice change of pace now with some cool interwoven instrumental lines and cool effects work to build some interesting soundscaping. I do kind of wish it hard burst into life though as, while I enjoyed the slow brooding of it, it felt like it was getting ready for an explosion that never came. New Math - New Math is right, there's plenty of cool time signature stuff going on here, but it's delivered with a driven and purposeful forward momentum that works really well. The rolling bass and drum work is great again and those time signature switching sections that punctuate the track give it a good deal of range. Another solid effort. Human Interest - Sometimes this album gets a bit too locked into the same riff and things get a bit repetitive. It happens now and again here, even though they do switch things up a bit. I think it's the short length of some of those riffs that makes them feel that way. Otherwise, it's another decent track. Good punch and weight to things and a great sound. But perhaps this is just getting a touch long in the tooth now. Sinews - Another slow burn of a track now. The feedback and effects work is really charged and creates an excellent noisy intensity to the soundscape. Then they work their way through stuff with a bit more punch and some more cool riffs and work with uneven meter. When it commits to the drive later on, it gets really heavy and driven too. A solid, if over-long closer.

A little too much yell with too little melody for my taste.

Overall: 3.28 (rounded to 3) Consistency: 3.11 Originality: 3.5 Enjoyment: 3.5 Virtuosity: 3 1. Here Come the Rome Plows - 3 2. Do You Compute - 3 3. Golden Brown - 3 4. Luau - 4 5. Super Unison - 3 6. New Intro - 3 7. New Math - 3 8. Human Interest - 3 9. Sinews - 3

Just some good ass punk, simple as. 4.5 bumped down to 4.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5. The only track that didn’t click for me here was “Here Come the Rome Plows” – as the opening track, I just don’t think it set a great overall tone for the album. It’s a little too cacophonous, the lyricism is a bit too broad, & the lack of any clarity to let the track breathe out of its wall of noise just didn’t really work for me. It’s got a great anger behind it, and that does set a decent tone in that sense, but it’s just not very compelling as a starting track. Thank goodness, then, that the rest of the album does everything right. Each track gets a lot clearer on their meanings, the walls of noise gain a lot more of a melodic tone, & the anger that emanates out of Rick Froberg’s voice enhances each track to a ridiculously strong degree. “Do You Compute” should’ve been the opener, because it’s 7 completely captivating minutes that knock it out of the park. The sense of generationally-driven anger combined with the guitar building up a tension throughout that gets released by some great percussion work (& I mean GREAT percussion work) just appealed right to my musical sensibilities. The only tracks that I had nitpicks about after that were “Luau” (just a bit long) & the closer, “Sinews” (where the lyricism is just a little loose). Beyond the minor nitpicks though, the whole thing just comes together as a release of several frustrations. Whether it’s from anger at American colonialism affecting Hawaii, romantically-driven anger over cheating, being cheated on, or being overly controlling, or downplaying substance abuse, a lot of this album dips into the ways in which people unhealthily confront their own demons. I think it tackles a lot of the issues well, and while it doesn’t try to solve them, it at least attempts to provide a catharsis over each of them through loud sustained anger. For me, that just really fucking worked. Hence, a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5. Obviously, it’s not for everyone, and I totally get the 2.73 on the site. If your musical taste needs more substance & melody to it, this is not for you. If your musical taste consists of letting the music dictate your mood & if you’re in the right mood to listen to Rick’s frustrations, this will likely click for you. Yeah, it’s a bit long, and I do think it could be just a little tighter overall, but if you let go & just soak it in, the 53 minutes go by a bit quicker than you might think. I enjoyed this one a lot, I’m glad it’s on the list, and I think despite the first track not clicking, the entire package is more than strong enough to warrant a 5. The floor, at the very least, should be a 3.

The vocals were not great and some songs were way too long.

Could have been shorter

Really just seemed like pointless noise. Didn’t like.

Meh-music was good but vocals annoying. Sound like college bar band from 90’s

The type of thing I should love. I don't hate it, but that's about it. Seems like a raw early album of a band going on to bigger things (and maybe it is depending on how you view RFTC). Gotta call out Sundews though, great song

Yes! That was really a great album. A bit on the longer side, but who am I to complain?

Not feeling this. The screeching and screaming are a no.

I don't often dish out 5* to albums I've never listened to by bands I've never heard of - but wow! This is everything I could've asked for. Screaming punk a-la At The Drive In, experimental rock a-la Slint, and brooding post-rock a-la Mogwai. Hell to the yes!!

I never heard of this band before, but I gotta hand it to them. This music sounds 10 years ahead of it's time. It's a weird combination of stuff I like and stuff I don't like. I'm into the math rock/post-punk kinda thing, but less a fan of the emo (although I don't really hear much of that in here). Unsurprisingly, it reminds me of the post-punk I've listened to that I haven't been as big of a fan of. I think I like it more than a 3, so i'm going to give it a 4, but it's really somewhere in between.

Not a fan of punk. I love a lot of rock and metal, but I don't love this.

Das Album ist eine Frescheit für alle Musiker. Fūr manchen mag es punkprovscation sein. Mit Ausnahme diese 10 Freunde ist ohrenbetäubender unstrukturierter Müll:

I think this will grow on me, it reminds me a lot of Frank Iero’s solo stuff. I will come back later to give it another listen for sure. By my rating scale, this earns a 3* but I could see it moving to a 4 or 5* after a few more listens. I am so surprised I’ve never heard of this band, and after 259 albums this one gives me motivation to keep going.

Not a fan

I'm shocked this is in here, in a good way. MAN, I can't tell you the last time I heard this, but going back to it for this was a treat. I didn't remember this album being so all out aggressive, sort of a San Diego Unwound. Splits the head open. Very glad to see it in this book.

Was expecting this to be a reggae album. Not what I thought, but still good

Idk what to say it about it. Just didn’t like the shit tbh

Didn’t mind the sound and vibe generally but the singing was just awful.

Not usually a huge hardcore fan, but this is clearly pretty good

Only got through 1:20 of 5:44 - first song. and only 3:09 of 7:12 - second song. It's a no. No I don't have to listen to this.

Toca semana cortísima porque ayer fue feriado, el viernes hay paro nacional y mañana y el miércoles se trabaja de corrido: sólo hoy se escuchará la sugerencia del reto. No juno la banda pero por la tapa me imaginé el estilo de la banda. Y acá hicimos un párate porque no se pudo seguir, así que se retoma hoy lunes, también con semana de paro. Me gustó. El hardcore y el post-hardcore tienen su hipnosis y su agresividad. ¿Podríamos decir que logran un equilibrio que se acerca a lo perfecto? Dejamos la pregunta abierta Muchas gracias y hasta mañana

COuld have beenn better with less screaming

Noisy yet boring.

Post-Hardcore er en sjanger som lenge har vært litt mystisk for meg, men etter å ha hatt et gjensyn med Yank Crime, tror jeg at jeg skjønner det. Jeg skjønner fortsatt ikke helt hvordan vi gikk fra hardcore (punk) til dette, men jeg får bare bite meg i det og stole på at prosessen har blitt fulgt. De som ønsker mer av dette bør sjekke ut Unwound (som er enda bedre🤫).

Aldri hørt om det her, men det er ganske fett. Minner meg om debutalbumet til The Datsuns. Selv om det mangler noe av den punchen jeg liker så godt der.

That was certainly something and very hardcore

Started as loud thrash and then changed to ok music with bad production. Songs went from quiet to loud and back to quiet and i felt like i was watching tv where tge show and commercials aren't at the same volume. Frankly it really detracted from my enjoyment.

I had heard OF Drive Like Jehu but am fairly certain I had never actually listened to them. Not a genre I have spent much time with as an adult. And about a minute into the first track, I am reminded why: my old ears don't appreciate noise like they once did. This seems fine and I probably would have loved it had I heard it at the time it was released. Encountering it for the first time in 2026 just makes me feel old. These songs seem a lot longer than necessary. The first 30 seconds of "Super Unison" made me turn down the volume to nearly inaudible.

Very expressive, dark and spooky

LOVE Drive Like Jehu...love, I say. Did I say it? Love....

Ещё одни сбежавшие из сумасшедшего дома

proper underground emo rock music. released at the middle of the 90s, it's an even blend of the more humble and imperfect punk from the earlier part of the decade and the crazy alternative experimental stuff from the later part. honestly? i really fucked with the sound of this one for most of its runtime. i love me some emo music and it's even better when it's more... daring and much more faster than usual. would this album be good for skate punk stuff? i think it would be perfect for that. black dyed hair, black beanie, pants with straps and loops on it... above anything else i love albums that take a genre i know well enough and flip it sideways. fuckkkkk i feel it!!! i'm gonna smoke a cigarette and stand in the rain.

Dette er sikkert noe jeg burde ha likt, men jeg synes det blir kjedelig.

Meh.. Tidvis interessant men lander helt midt på treet.

Fint nytt bekjentskap. Herlig driv, støyende og melodisk. Minner tidvis om Sonic Youth.

Nothing special

ALOHA, ALOHA SUIT UP! If I have to listen to six Elvis Costello and nine David Bowie albums, you all have to listen to this. Yank Crime is a phenomenal work of legendary post-hardcore and noise rock. It's an album primarily known for the legacy it has left, so rivers of ink have already been spilled about it, just like the cover. And even then, it's still relatively new to me. So it doesn't have a massive personal impact like some of my other 5s. But of course it's got a low rating on here. Lol. Lmao, even. Y'all just can't handle screaming and guitar feedback, and the grooves all over the album that are simultaneously meditative while still being high energy chaos. This kicks so much ass. Aloha.

Ugh. No thanks

Not really feeling it. Almost gave it a 1/5 but there has to be worse music out there 2/5

There were parts I liked and parts I did not like

Listened to it two or three times because I wanted to figure out how to like it. But I couldn’t tap into it. It’s kind of how I imagine people wondering why someone would like mewithoutyou. Maybe I’ll try it again.

Really cool album. Elements of noise, hardcore, early CA based pop punk, it's a cool time machine.

velikodušno ću dati trojku. glazbeno je kvalitetno i zanimljivo, premda ta žestina nije nešto što se meni baš dopada, ali bi me uvijek zaintrigirala. no vokal, odnosno stil pjevanja... užas živi. zašto? bilo bi stoput bolje da glasa uopće nema... velika, velika šteta

Enjoyed it!

c'étaitfun

I could literally feel my cortisol levels going up. This is what stress and anxiety sound like.

No me gusta.

I feel like an angsty teen listening to this - and I like it!

*1994. American post-hardcore (punk). *Starts out frantic and shouty. Then there are combination of rock songs and some more frantic/shouty punk songs. *I like a little of that, but 70 minutes is too much. RATING - 6.5/10

Liked this one!

Good album! Classic punk sounds

interesting enough, but it was rather samey to the point of monotony. didnt help that some of the songs and the album as a whole were too long

This is #day644 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… face it, sometimes you just feel like putting on a post-hardcore record, don't you? Well, judging by this album's general rating, apparently not, which is probably another reason I'm giving it a higher score. I'm also a little biased here, since Deftones, one of my all-time favorite bands, covered "Caress" from Drive Like Jehu's debut. Anyway, this is a nice one for when you're angry. This is a 4 out of 5. Looking forward to #day645.

Drive Like Jehu Yank Crime 1* This is an album I should like, post punk, screamed vocals, right up my alley but the production/mixing of the album ruins it for me. The screamed vocals sound like they're coming from the next room. It's like they're trying to make a Fugazi album sound like shoegaze. This album has been disappointing me for 3 decades

On of my fav bands! I love Rick forever! <3

Interesting. American punk noise with undercurrent of metal out of the same tangent as husker du. Worth a second listen.

another easy 5-star pick for me. this was playing in my car and home throughout most of the 90s. not everyone is gonna dig jehu, but if you do, this is their undisputed masterpiece. all their stuff shines but this is where they transcend their catalog.

I had this record in high school for a brief period. I don’t think I was ready for it back then. I like it a lot better these days. It sounds like what I love about mid-90s noise/indie rock. It kinda reminds me of Archers of Loaf, at least in terms of what they’re doing with guitars. It has more punk rock sensibility about it. I wish Drive Like Jehu had more interest in melody, but I like them pretty good for what they do. 7.5/10

Un autre Mars Volta! Blague à part, on est plus du côté punk que metal ici. J'ai tout de suite pensée à la similarité avec Nirvana dans le côté grunge/punk. Mais Billy Talent aussi, je sais pas pourquoi je pense la voix du gars et le côté énergique. Je suis pas un grand connoisseur de post hardcore alors va falloir faire avec mes référents Mars Volta et Billy Talent. Petit côté math rock et musique concrète bien plaisant. Point négatif: pistes trop longues pour la cause (ce qui en fait un album ultimement trop long aussi!)

Du bon post-hardcore. Clairement le son a influencé tellement de stock que j’ai écouté plus jeune donc facteur nostalgie très fort, quoique je me adouci avec le temps, je trouvais ça un peu raide. À l’inverse j’ai envie de dire que ce band était influencé par Slint qu’on a écouté plus tôt, ce qui est très positif!

I was a DJ at my college radio station. Stuff like this was our bread and butter. Doesn’t age well. It may not have even been very good to start. This is what Boomers think Nirvana sounds like. Screaming. Wailing guitars. Distortion and feedback to a punishing level.

Hell yeah

Favourite Songs: Golden Brown Luau Super Unison Sinews

It's not unlistenable, but neither is it memorable.

Angry. I think. Started well, but over and hour at tha intensity was too much.

Wonderful find of a band I missed completely as a teen

Interesting and compelling. A good combo!

Never heard of this band or album, so let's check it out... WTF, where has this been?!? Instrumentation is awesome, production quality v good, there are some great tracks (I'm only half way thru). Definitely want to listen to more.

Enjoyed this. Musically, this album is interesting and is oddly long form for a genre that usually shy's away from that. It does have some parts were brevity would have been better, but overall this was a good album. 3.5/5 Might listen again

Solid!

chega de barulhoooooo

mish

Not my genre, but holy fuck

Noisy. Sometimes in a good way, but mostly in a way that is not my thing. Rating: 3/10 Favorite Song: Do you Compute

Album #139 Drive Like Jehu: Yank Crime Not an album I ever expected to be on this list, for the most part, so far I’ve either just been getting straight classics, commercially successful (yet often dated), or 90s electronic albums; Yank Crime doesn’t fit into any of those boxes. 90s post-hardcore is something which I’ve only been exposed to through Fugazi, who are a band which I love, yet I’ve never ventured further into the genre, mostly out of fear that the music would lean too far into screamo, which is not a genre which I remotely enjoy. Yank Crime thankfully keeps its aggression, without resorting to straight ear-rape. What I find so interesting about this album is that it has that traditional punk sound, yet the songs go on for a lot longer than most punk songs. Even Fugazi tend not to have tracks break four minutes, yet here we have half of the tracklist over 5 minutes. It is an interesting take on the sound, and it is cool to see how songs like this can expand over longer runtimes. I also appreciate punk that still focuses on guitar work and riffs, instead of solely the vocals. Definitely an unexpected album for me, I really didn’t have any idea what this would sound like. Maybe it’s just because I’ve been on such a mediocre streak that even Sheryl Crow seemed to be a step up, but I really enjoyed this one. Best Songs: Do You Compute, Here Come The Rome Plows, Luau Worst Song: Human Interest Score out of 10: 8.5

It’s interesting and unique

That was a fun gem. Very fun to work out to and think it’ll grow on me over time. I know nothing about the emo genre so can’t hear its specific influence on that. Rating: 4.0

Raucous but also really tight, this on grew on me a lot. One to revisit for sure.

A little long, but this is full of really cool, dissonant guitar work and challenging songs structures. Easy to see the influence this had on a lot of punk, rock, and metal. This is a great find and was definitely worthy of being on the list. 4.0/5.0: Great

possibly my favorite discovery from the list so far

71/100. A really good record that captures an intense post-hardcore sound about living in a state of pressure and instability. It feels like a work of controlled chaos where every jagged guitar riff and screaming vocal is placed with precise intent.

I like how angry they are

2.75/5

Rating: 5/10 Review: Just meh. Not for me. Kinda liked some of the instrumentals but the voice was too much for me. Also sort of boring and one note. Listen again?: No

Groupe inconnu. J'étais un peu désappointé en découvrant la durée de l'album (pas mal d'albums longs et ennuyeux dans cette liste), mais j'ai été conquis dès le premier morceau ! Des riffs dissonants, une basse bien en avant, une batterie pas en reste, et des morceaux qui prennent le temps de se développer avec une structure systématiquement originale. Une excellente surprise, bien trop rare dans cette liste, qui va directement prendre la note maximale : je n'ai rien trouvé à lui reprocher ! C'est mon 713 eme album, et c'est le premier qui atteint cette note à la première écoute... =>5/5

Always been aware of this record, but never really listened before. I acknowledge and appreciate its classic status, but it's not totally my thing. Frontman of Rocket From the Crypt (which IS totally my thing) on guitar, clearly an influence on At The Drive-In and lots of emo-y DC stuff I'm familiar with. "Luau" was a standout!

Super early emo. Can tell its like, influential but didn't enjoy. I want to give it 1.5

I put this on and immediately recognized the vocalist but couldn't place it. Looked it up, saw it was the dude from Hot Snakes, and it clicked right away. Makes sense that I would like this album so much since I like his other band. Surprised I had never heard of this one before though.

Weird album, good instrumentals, too many weird sounds and 9 minute songs for 5 stars

Way more abrasive than anything I usually listen to. But there are some good, more chill parts as well.

Bit too much shouty/whiny and very repetitive/long in patches without seeming to be clever repetitive. Maybe I'm too old for noise and want it more musical. One of the tags for it is "noise rock" to me more noise and not enough rock. It did expand my listening repertoire, so I don't regret listening to it but would not listen again or seek out another album by them. Trying not just to give everything a 3 cos it didn't inspire me. So it's not a 4 which makes it a 2.

Never heard of album or band before. More historically significant than must listen. Not one of my preferred styles either. The siren start to Super Unison made me look at my phone to see if this was a test or real emergency. 0 songs added to playlist.

Maybe don't read this review if you want an unbiased account or a clever hot take. I've got neither, since I revered Drive Like Jehu as soon as a friend put me on to their first record. They were everything I wanted out of music at the time. It was a surprise to hear Drive Like Jehu had signed to Interscope, but the 90s were a feeding frenzy for the majors in the wake of Nirvana's breakout success. And to be fair, John Reis did have another San Diego band a lot of other kids liked and Jehu's first album was impressive enough that we took note of it in the Pacific Northwest punk/noise/rock scenes. So it's not totally crazy to think Interscope might scoop both up as a package deal. That first S/T record is more difficult to find digitally given it appeared on smaller local labels at the time, and my understanding is Reis, Froberg and the band are less proud of it. But Caress, Spikes to You, Step on Chameleon, O Pencil Sharp, Atom Jack, If It Kills You, Good Luck in Jail, Turn It Off, and Future Home of Stucco Monstrosity were all seared in my mind. Nearly wore the grooves out on that vinyl. Everything is already there: Rick Froberg's wickedly acerbic lyrics, the interplay between his and John's guitars, Reis coaxing harsh and inventive sounds out of his that are just otherworldly, the confidence to put space in the songs and stretch things out for the occasional pay off or denial of it (both were exciting), Trombino's pummeling drums and Mike Kennedy's hypnotic bass grounding the band and allowing all the other elements to be as unhinged as needed. Yeah, I love that record too. Why all the historical lead up? Because it's the way you can understand how, when Yank Crime starts with Here Come the Rome Plows, the Jehu faithful were ecstatic. It was immediately obvious they had not sold out in the move to Interscope (a real fear at the time) and that the listener was going to get the dissonant, post-hardcore sonic treatment they'd been waiting for. Every song on the record slays, and live they're just as excellent — the record captures and conveys the energy well. Production-wise it's a step up from the debut but not at all fussy or overly done. It stays true. I appreciate the reissue contains Hand Over Fist/Bullet Train to Vegas, etc., but if you're listening for the very first time I think the original track listing is a tighter experience (i.e. stop after the first occurrence of Sinews is over). Do You Compute? still gives me shivers listening to it. RIP Rick Froberg, one of the best humans.

Terrible. Sounds like something I’d hear at Midwest Music Fest. Loud, long songs, a lot of just instruments playing. I hated it.

Yeah sorry i know this thing is beloved and all, but i just can’t with hardcore, i liked the lyrical meaning though.

Not. Good.

Didn't like, felt like it lacked substance and just couldn't get past the first 2 songs

I will say the one interesting thing about this album is it's part of a subgenre called math rock. I like math much more than I liked this.

I'm sure I'll be in the minority here, but I really liked this one. Reminded me of Jesus Lizard and Black Flag. Great musicianship, insane energy. Cathartic.

Earnestly embracing any post-hardcore showing up on this list, and this is a dang classic!

i dont like this band's name but I do like their MUSIC

9/10

Haven't heard of them. What a mess, supposedly it's post hardcore math rock whatever but it sounds like a whole bunch of nothing. It's just not interesting 2/5

I sort of liked this. Hints of Nirvana and The Strokes. 3.5

One of my favourite bands of all time is At the Drive-In and I'm extremely embarrassed to say I have never heard of Drive Like Jehu. They were very clearly a massive influence on AtDI so much so that Napoleon Solo is almost a rip off of Do Not Compute. I don't think it's the undeniable masterpiece that The Relationship of Command is but it's very good, it's a slightly more straight forward, the blurring, colliding guitars are there but will play a standard sounding riff more often. There is probably more slow tension building songs than AtDI also. Given time, I might regret only giving 4 stars. 8.5/10

FAVS (top 3): golden brown, super union, sinews mençoes honrosas: here come the rome plows, new intro, new math mt nada a ve, grandes coisas nota final: 3/5

Great music to be depressed to

I do not like this at all

I did not expect to fall in love with a hardcore album on this site. It's not a genre I avoid, but it's not one I actively seek out either. So of course I had no idea who Drive Like Jehu were, and I was pretty shocked to find such an aggressive sound after listening to 312 albums that sound nothing like this. What a welcome surprise it was. Yank Crime had my attention from the onset, but by the time I got to "Luau", a nine-and-a-half minute sludge fest with teeth-grinding guitar licks and driving drums and bass, I knew I had been served up something special with this one. The reviews on this site might suggest otherwise (this album is not for everyone and it will certainly be one I have to listen to on my own) but when you start digging into how Yank Crime is perceived among hardcore fans, you'll quickly find there is a reason this is on the 1001 list. I'm certainly glad the authors didn't ignore it. What a thrashing masterpiece.

Pleasantly surprised here. When I hear "post-rock" I think of long inaccessible sprawling epics like from Sigur Ros or Godspeed You Black Emperor, but the riffs were solid here and the songs kept me engaged throughout. Underrated 90s gem.