Evil Jake built a real name for themselves in the New York rock scene in the early 2000s, sharing stages with acts like The Strokes, The Bravery, Charlie Daniels Band, Vernon Reid of Living Colour, and Colin Hay of Men at Work along the way. Their album “Be My Ex-Girlfriend” arrived in 2003, thirteen tracks running about 45 minutes, and it remains the release the band is best known for.
Be My Ex-Girlfriend
The record was produced by Adam Lasus, whose credits include work with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Army Navy, Juliana Hatfield, and J. Mascis, and it brought in guest vocals from Sam Endicott of The Bravery and singer-songwriter Patti Rothberg. The title track ended up becoming the album’s biggest calling card, picking up national radio spins and landing placements on shows like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, The Real World, and Road Rules, along with a spot in Jack Black’s School of Rock and a Macy Gray Mountain Dew commercial. That kind of reach for an independent rock band in the early 2000s speaks to how well the song connected outside the band’s immediate scene.
The record opens with “Use Me,” a guitar-heavy statement of intent that sets up the cynical, push-and-pull relationship dynamics running through most of the album. “She’s So Lonely” follows right behind it, a fast, hook-driven slice of power pop that ended up serving as one of the album’s main radio singles. “Falling Man” slows the pace slightly and pushes further into alternative rock territory, tracking a slide into personal chaos over a longer, moodier arrangement, before “Everything She Wants,” the longest cut on the record, leans into something more dramatic and gives Jacobs plenty of room to show off a genuinely biting vocal delivery.
“Saving Grace” pulls things back toward punchier territory, pairing raw guitar work with a hook that still lands as pure pop underneath the grit. “Say You Love Me” takes a more sarcastic angle, picking apart empty romantic promises over the band’s characteristically aggressive rhythm section, and sets up the title track, “Be My Ex-Girlfriend,” which arrives at track seven as the record’s clearest statement of what the band does best, spite, humor, and hooks that refuse to leave your head, all rolled into one energetic package.
“Delaware Park” keeps things moving with a short, fast burst of old-school punk energy dropped right into the album’s midsection, followed by “Everything You’d Never Wanna Be,” a high-octane track built on jagged, defiant guitar rhythms. “Serious” tightens things up further, a short, hard-edged cut that leans fully into the trio’s rock instincts, before “I Don’t Think I Like U” delivers one of the record’s most direct, live-show-ready choruses, blunt and immediately memorable.
“Kiss or Kill” stands out as one of the record’s darker, edgier moments, helped along by guest vocals from Sam Endicott of The Bravery. The album closes with “Smile,” a melodic send-off that still carries a bit of the record’s trademark bitterness right through to the last note, ending things on a note that’s catchy without ever fully letting its guard down.
These days, the band’s lineup includes Grammy-winning drummer Rich Kulsar, and they’ve recently started playing shows together again as a complete band for the first time in years. That mix of a well-established catalog and a genuinely refreshed lineup makes now a good moment to revisit where it all started.
Final Thoughts
“Be My Ex-Girlfriend” holds up as a genuinely solid piece of early-2000s alternative rock, and with the band back playing full shows again, it’s worth another spin.
You can find Evil Jake on their official website. Stay tuned to MusicOnTheRox.com for all your music news and reviews.
