Can't Maintain
| Can't Maintain | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 13, 2009 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 28:23 | |||
| Label | Asian Man | |||
| AJJ chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Punknews.org |   [1] |
| Sputnikmusic |  [2] |
Can't Maintain (stylized as can't maintain.) is the third studio album by AJJ.[3]
Production
Jeff Rosenstock played horns and theremin on the album.[4] The release was mastered by Carl Saff. In 2019, AJJ frontman Sean Bonnette ranked Can't Maintain as his third favorite album from the band's six releases to date[5] and described it as "the only record thus far where we knew the sequence going into it."[5] In 2019, AJJ celebrated the album's 10th anniversary by playing it in full at a fundraising concert in Phoenix, Arizona.[6][7]
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Sean Bonnette; all music is composed by AJJ
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Heartilation" | 2:01 |
| 2. | "Self Esteem" | 1:36 |
| 3. | "Love in the Time of Human Papillomavirus" | 2:04 |
| 4. | "Evil" | 2:06 |
| 5. | "You Don't Deserve Yourself" | 2:30 |
| 6. | "Olde(y) Tyme(y)" | 1:09 |
| 7. | "Kazoo Sonata in Cmaj" | 1:17 |
| 8. | "We Didn't Come Here to Rock" | 2:23 |
| 9. | "Truckers Are the Blood" | 3:01 |
| 10. | "Love Will Fuck Us Apart" | 1:44 |
| 11. | "Sense, Sensibility" | 2:16 |
| 12. | "Who Are You?" | 2:40 |
| 13. | "White Face, Black Eyes" | 3:26 |
| Total length: | 28:23 | |
Reception
Adam Finley, writing for PopMatters, described Can't Maintain as one of the best albums of 2009.[8] Robin Smith of PopMatters wrote that the album "opened with scuzzy electric guitars and pounding drums" and called the track "We Didn't Come Here to Rock" a "delightfully ironic rocker."[9] The A.V. Club included the track “Who Are You?” in its list of songs about bad fathers, adding that Bonnette "[coats] his complex emotions in witty one-liners."[10]
Personnel
AJJ
- Sean Bonnette - lead vocals, guitar, kazoo, glockenspiel
- Ben Gallaty - bass, guitar on "Evil", backing vocals
- Preston Bryant - guitar on "You Don't Deserve Yourself", piano on "White Face, Black Eyes"
- Deacon Batchelor - drums
- Owen Evans - banjo, piano on "Evil"
Additional personnel
- Jeff Rosenstock - saxophone, theremin
- Kepi Ghoulie - whistling
- David Jerkovich - drums, viola, mandolin, electric guitar, organ, and trumpet all on "Love Will Fuck Us Apart"
- Davy Charles - trumpet, trombone on "Truckers Are the Blood"
- Matt Keegan - trombone
- Tobie Milford - violin
- Jaspen Nelson - trombone on "Truckers Are the Blood"
- Allyson Seconds - vocals on "Love In The Time Of Human Papillomavirus"
- Carl Saff - mastering
- Jalipaz Nelson - recording, mixing, noise
- Ryan Piscitelli - artwork, layout
References
- ^ "Andrew Jackson Jihad-Can't Maintain". Punknews.org. October 13, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
- ^ Can't Maintain review Sputnikmusic. Published December 13, 2009. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- ^ Can't Maintain at AllMusic. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
- ^ Jason P. Woodbury (2011) "Andrew Jackson Jihad's Sean Bonnette on Knife Man and Gawker" Phoenix New Times. Published September 16, 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- ^ a b Dan Ozzi (2019) "AJJ’s Sean Bonnette Ranks the Band’s Six Albums" Noisey. Published February 1, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- ^ Amy Young (2019) "AJJ Celebrates Can't Maintain's Anniversary at Cowtown S.K.A.T.E.'s Annual Fundraiser" Phoenix New Times. Published October 1, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- ^ Ed Masley (2019) "Here's some great local music to check out in Phoenix, from Fairy Bones to Spafford" AZCentral. Published October 4, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- ^ Adam Finley (2011) "Andrew Jackson Jihad: Knife Man" PopMatters. Published October 10, 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- ^ Robin Smith (2014) "Getting Naked, Playing with Guns: An Interview with Andrew Jackson Jihad" PopMatters. Published 28 April 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
- ^ "Bad dads: 19 songs about shitty fathers" The A.V. Club. Published June 11, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
