Jayson Green & The Jerk, the current project from Orchid / Panthers / Violent Bullshit frontman Jayson Green, released their first single for DFA Records today. It was produced by James Murphy and W. Andrew Raposo (Midnight Magic); they recorded it in one night, and the sounds of the clinking bottles and giddy chatter on “Local Jerk,” one of the two songs here, gives a hint to the vibe.
We are firmly in vintage DFA territory on “Local Jerk,” with Raposo’s elastic disco bassline and the bongo-fueled percussion, not to mention the lyrics and vocals — is that Nancy Whang shouting along? — which detail a partygoer who “spends half her fucking paycheck on the train.” The flipside is “I Need Love” which plays like a nightmare mashup of LCD Soundsystem’s “Losing My Edge” and The Doors’ ‘The End.'” When Green pleads, “Do you wanna come to my DJ night?” he doesn’t wait for an answer. “Me neither.” Listen to both sides below.
Jayson Green & The Jerk just made their live debut at Brooklyn’s Baby’s All Right on Wednesday night, and the live band includes Raposo, Nancy Whang, Nick Millhiser (Holy Ghost!, LCD), Andrew Reuland (Les Savy Fav), and more. The set included both songs from the 12″, 2020 song “Too Much Beauty,” and a few that stretched beyond the DFA disco-krautrock-postpunk playbook into soul and straight-up rock. No word on when the next show will be.
Jayson will be screaming with Orchid this May for the band’s first shows in over 20 years.
