Is Minus even making music? On Jesus Christ Bobby, vocals are screamed over a cacophony of guitar feedback, drums that are pounded rather than played, and other assorted noises. It’s disappointingly interesting for a few minutes, then it just becomes amusing in a sad sort of way, and in the end, it doesn’t even have that to sustain it. Jesus Christ Bobby is basically silly.

Minus’s intentions seem to be to shock rather than entertain, and while the band is not doing it in the flashy way that groups like Slipknot or Insane Clown Posse are, the focus is on distressing and alienating listeners. Unlike some bands that make listeners work to grasp the music, Minus just seems bent on upsetting listeners for no good reason. There is nothing to this music. It is fury for the sake of itself.

While every now and then the band shows a spark of actual talent with some of the sounds it is creating, mostly Jesus Christ Bobby is a waste. At first, there does seem to be a method to the insanity they have created, but by the fourth song, all hope is lost. All the songs are the same, except for a few slightly melodic breaks that almost serve to differentiate the songs from each other. It doesn’t matter though. There’s no transition, no change in tone. If the songs were building to some sort of purpose, maybe these things would be forgivable, but Minus has just recorded the same song repeatedly and just changed the lyrics. (Ignoring the completely out of place, acoustic “Arctic Exhibition” which shows promise.)

And yes, there are lyrics to these songs. According to the liner notes, there are, although just by listening to the songs, you really can’t hear any actual words. With song titles like “Modem Haircut” and lyrics like “dedicated to one another but sometimes hating each other” from “Frat Rock”, you really aren’t missing much by not being able to understand what is being said. Even if they lyrics were somewhat interesting, the band’s “music” would still have to be waded through. It’s probably all for the best that Minus fails here, too.

If Minus had a point here, it’s completely obscured. Jesus Christ Bobby is obnoxious, annoying, and pretty meaningless. Perhaps the band can’t be any better than it is here, but it probably wouldn’t have hurt if Minus had tried. The band has recorded an album and turned up with creating absolutely nothing.