Gigantic Sike is MEAN JEANS’ fifth full-length and falls into the same category as their prior albums –
three-chord, heavily Ramones-influenced party punk, but with a bit of a twist. While the songs are fun and
fast, there is a darker story being told of the bleak existence of a party boy. Each of the 11 tracks have an
element of sadness and cynicism to them. On the surface, opening track “Party Line” is about a hotline
you call when you’re ready to party. The hotline is singer Billy Jeans actual cell phone. No one is blowing
up the party line anymore and everyone is moving on with their lives. “What the Fuck Is up Tonight?” describes
the struggle between heeding the call to grow up, and the desire to live in the moment. Gigantic
Sike’s mission statement concludes with its closing track. “Time Warp” is a fizzy, melodic number that
serves as an exit strategy for the issues presented throughout the album – you have the ability to run
away from all of the stupid decisions you’ve made in life, and take the time warp to start over again. It is
a joke on the fantasy of sneaking out the backdoor on a crummy identity you didn’t necessarily mean to
create. This underlying theme mixed with classic MEAN JEANS like “Just a Trim (Don’t Buzz Me Alright)”
and “I Fell into a Bog” has MEAN JEANS at their best.
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