CD Review: Jesus H Christ and the Four Hornsmen of the Apocalypse – “Happier Than You”

Jesus H Christ and the Four Hornsmen of the Apocalypse‘s sophomore release, “Happier Than You”, is a casual tale-spin of simple human truths, resulting in a compilation so unfortunately hilarious. The seriousness (or lack thereof) of the material isn’t called into question as much as what the underlying message might be for the listener – perhaps in that if you can’t bear to eek out a laugh or shake your head in exasperated acceptance at most things screwed and twisted, perhaps there’s no hope in trying much of anything else.

The album starts with a look into the life of a front-desk darling who doesn’t have much going on in the brains department but intelligently enough utilizes her hotness (“Liz the Hot Receptionist”), shifting to the awkwardness and down-spiral of teenaged isolation (“Jill Used to Be Normal”), and ‘going there’ with the idea that Googling self is “a special sort of masturbation” (“Vanity Surfing”). By the time you get to the opening lyrics of “I Miss Your Arm”, you will be ashamed at even thinking presumably dirty. In the listener’s defense, with lyrics such as “when I told you that I didn’t want any part of you, it wasn’t true / ’cause part of me still misses parts of you”, it really can’t be helped.

Jesus H Christ [...]‘s style covers many genres, from surf music and sultry jazz to psychadelic rock and Broadway production – a la the B-52′s, Jellyfish, and the cast of Avenue Q. And should it be thought that horn sections try too hard, the four hornsmen interject in a way completely opposite from what “should be”, creating a mood and meshing in a way that firmly cements their placement.

On the whole, however, it begs repeating – you will laugh so hard that you might feel guilty. You might feel even more guilty for playing this on a loop. Charming, crude, and thoroughly clever, “Happier than You” will be released on October 20th.