The Presidents of The United States of America | Album Review

If you distilled the angst out of Nirvana, leaving behind a mess of distorted guitars, goofy lyrics, and pure pop melodies, you might get something close to The Presidents of The United States of America. As a chorus of cat meows opens up their self-titled debut, that theory edges closer towards being proven.

Its refreshing to find a record that isn’t trying to say much. The opening “Kitty” shares a harrowing tale of wanting to pet a cat only for it to scratch you. “Boll Weevil” describes an insect that likes sitting inside his house. “Dune Buggy” is about driving a dune buggy.

Keeping it simple is integral to the PUSA experience. The band was famous for their strange instrument mods – Chris Ballew playing a two-string bass and Dave Dederer a three-string guitar, exclusively playing power chords. Do you really need anything else?

The band’s biggest hits came in “Lump” and “Peaches” – two stellar examples of their simplistic formula. “Lump” leaves out the guitars for the first verse, a hypnotizing effect as the drums and vocals lure the listener into a metaphor about a dumb girl and a brain tumor. “Peaches” is about eating peaches, really, though a Marxist reading could reveal an underlying story of an oppressive canning empire and dreams of fruity liberation. But it doesn’t have to be that deep.

If one song sums up the band best, its “We Are Not Going to Make It.” They sing, “There’s a million better bands / With a million better songs … Deep in my heart i do believe / We’re not gonna make it.” They sound pretty happy about that too. Sometimes bands suck, what can you do?

That’s really all there is to say. The Presidents of The United States of America is just fun, grunge-y pop music, perfect for an awkwardly imperialist holiday. Meow!