Demo tape from this new Chicago band featuring Joe Sussman from Nancy / Muff Divers / Dangus Tarkus.

Our take: Demo tape from this new Chicago band featuring Joe Sussman, whom you may remember from Nancy and Dangus Tarkus. We’re Sussman disciples here at Sorry State so I was excited to hear Jeez Louise, and this tape does not disappoint. If you like Sussman’s previous projects you’ll like Jeez Louise, but it is an evolution. There’s still plenty of the glam and Ramones-based power pop, but the Dickies, particularly Dawn of the Dickies, seems to be a big influence on this project (I swear “Motor Home Boys” even samples the car crash noise from “Manny, Moe, and Jack”). Dawn of the Dickies is one of my all-time favorite records, so I’m happy to hear Jeez Louise try their hand at that more ambitious songwriting style and hyper-fast tracks like “Motor Home Boys” and “Baby Mambo” that remind me of “I’m a Cholo” (these tracks also sound a lot like Bad Brains, who copped a lot of that song’s style on their seminal material). As with Nancy and Dangus Tarkus, you can hear some of the influences that shape Jeez Louise, but at the same it’s its own thing, and a weird and unique thing at that. Some people will find the high pitched vocals and goofy lyrics obnoxious, but I love this demo and will be playing it a lot.