Can't Maintain Explained
| Can't Maintain |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Andrew Jackson Jihad |
| Cover: | Cant Maintain.jpg |
| Released: | October 13, 2009 |
| Length: | 28:23 |
| Label: | Asian Man |
| Prev Title: | Operation Stackola |
| Prev Year: | 2009 |
| Next Title: | Knife Man |
| Next Year: | 2011 |
Can't Maintain (stylized as can't maintain.) is the third studio album by Andrew Jackson Jihad.
Production
Jeff Rosenstock played horns and theremin on the album.[1] 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[2] and described it as "the only record thus far where we knew the sequence going into it."[2] In 2019, AJJ celebrated the album's 10th anniversary by playing it in full at a fundraising concert in Phoenix, Arizona.[3] [4]
Reception
Adam Finley, writing for PopMatters, described Can't Maintain as one of the best albums of 2009.[5] 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."[6] 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."[7]
Personnel
Andrew Jackson Jihad
- 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
Notes and References
- 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.
- 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.
- https://www.avclub.com/bad-dads-19-songs-about-shitty-fathers-1798270661 "Bad dads: 19 songs about shitty fathers"
