Joe Pesci - At Our Expense

Joe Pesci MySpace
Release: 2009
Type: CD
Label: Bones Brigade

I'm like a 3-way split when it comes to bands named after thespians. One part of me doesn't care, another doesn't get the appeal and the third is waiting for an all-female band called Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. In the end it's all about the music, right? Joe Pesci the band has nearly everything we have come to expect from the actor: short songs, a pissed off attitude and an uncompromising approach. The only difference is that any project the actor signs his name to is going to have a production and marketing budget big enough to feed Sudan until the Mayan calendar ends. Conversely "At Our Expense" sounds like it was ripped from vinyl by holding a boombox to the output speaker. Like all poorly produced albums though you can increase your chances or enjoyment by turning it up a notch or three.

Just don't crank it up too loudly because, ironically, the few samples this album contains are actually mastered properly, i.e. twice as loud as the music - so you'll blow your ears if one of those pop up unexpectedly. That is really the only downer. Your ears adjust to the production just in time for a sample to fuck up your equilibrium and you have to adjust all over again. But let you be warned: any one who passes on this because it sounds like it was recorded in a caravan is a pretentious bastard.

The band serves up 17 helpings which is a solid number in most necks of the wood. Since the band's motto is Play Fast Or Don't, it should come as no surprise that this one is over mere seconds after the run time hits 15 minutes. It's quite a ride though. As the play list breezes by you get the impression that Joe Pesci could easily play any brand of extreme metal. They play throw-away slam riffs at light speed, crust at ridiculous speed and just to prove they have more than a cuisinart in the engine room, they twist out crossover riffs at ludicrous speed. The better riffs are of course subjective. For my cup of tea take for example the Assuck meets Discoradance Axis riffs in Sticking My Carbon Footprint Up Your Arse and at the end of Funkhouser. Or the wicked death metal riff that appears out of nowhere in the middle of Mindless Zombified Fucks. Not to be outdone, you can have both of those examples in one compact, 51-second helping that is Hyper-Real.

But don't stop there. Call it Fastcore. Call it Powerviolence. Call it as you see it. The whole point of At Our Expense is speed and attitude. Your best bet is to make full use of the 'repeat' button on your media device and go along for the ride. Check Joe Pesci out here, go buy it here or here, and then tell your friends about them while you wait.