JeezJesus, the creative engine of Manchester-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Joe McIntosh, brings his latest scorcher, “Work to Die,” a fist-pumping, electronically flooded rock composition that takes hold of you. This is an unrefined, amplified scream against the economic machine, and it absolutely rips.
McIntosh is no newcomer to the scene. He cut his teeth on guitar and keys in Manchester’s music scene with bands like the psychedelic rockers The Peace Pipers (yeah, he produced their stuff too). The guy’s a seasoned vet who knows how to write a hook that bites. After exploring darker electronic realms as GIMP and then fully morphing into the JeezJesus persona, he’s been on an absolute tear. “Work to Die” is the next explosive chapter after his synthpop banger “We Could Be Friends”—except this time he’s plugged straight into a distorted alt-rock power socket.
The track kicks off with a driving, almost militant rhythm that feels made for a packed, sweaty club. McIntosh piles on searing synth lines that’ll remind you of classic industrial’s finest moments, then drowns it all in thick, dirty guitar tone that gives the track its serious rock cred. His vocal delivery is perfectly pitched— part exhausted snarl, part battle cry—capturing the frustration we’ve all felt watching our paycheck disappear before rent’s even due. This is what it sounds like when an artist’s totally locked into their groove.
“Work to Die” is a direct hit to the gut of modern capitalist fatigue, that modern work-yourself-to-death exhaustion we’re all feeling. It’s a tongue-in-cheek—yet deadly serious—working person’s anthem for every person who’s ever felt like they’re sprinting on a treadmill that someone keeps cranking faster. And here’s the thing – he’s not standing on the sidelines preaching. Nah, this dude’s right there in the trenches with us, howling about the same crushing inflation, garbage wages, and rigged game we’re all playing. That abrasive authenticity is what makes this track hit different. Before you know it, you’re screaming along to that brutally real chorus like your life depends on it.
“Work to Die” proves that JeezJesus is one of the most vital voices tearing through the alt underground right now. This is a necessary, teeth-rattling middle finger to everything that’s broken about the way we live. So raise this baby up until your speakers beg for mercy. You’re not fighting alone out here. This is what resistance sounds like, and holy hell, it’s electric.