''Can't Maintain'' (stylized as ''can't maintain.'') is the third studio album by

Andrew Jackson Jihad AJJ is an American folk punk band from Phoenix, Arizona, originally formed in 2004 as Andrew Jackson Jihad. Their lyrics handle themes of shyness, poverty, humanity, religion, addiction, existentialism, and politics. Singer/guitarist Sean Bonnet ...

Production

Jeff Rosenstock played horns and

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...

on the album. The release was mastered by Carl Saff. In 2019, AJJ frontman Sean Bonnette ranked ''Can't Maintain'' as his third favourite album from the band's six releases to dateDan Ozzi (2019
"AJJ’s Sean Bonnette Ranks the Band’s Six Albums"
''

Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, ...

''. Published February 1, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2020. and described it as "the only record thus far where we knew the sequence going into it." In 2019, AJJ celebrated the album's 10th anniversary by playing it in full at a fundraising concert in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

Track listing

Reception

Adam Finley, writing for ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'', described ''Can't Maintain'' as one of the best albums of 2009. Robin Smith of ''

'' 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."

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

included the track “Who Are You?” in its list of songs about bad fathers, adding that Bonnette " oatshis complex emotions in witty one-liners.""Bad dads: 19 songs about shitty fathers"

. Published June 11, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2020.

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

References

{{Authority control 2009 albums AJJ (band) albums Asian Man Records albums