Less Than Jake < Jake As the old adage goes; if it ain't broke, don't fix it...usually applied to the arts, be it a successful writer with a certain knack for language or, a director with a certain style, getting the best out of their acting team...and yes, of course, musicians and bands come into it too. For example, LESS THAN JAKE formed all the way back in 1992 in Gainesville, Florida and for over twenty years now they have peddled their brand of bouncy, brass-infused punk rock and rarely if ever strayed far from that path. On occasion artists can become stale without experimenting and evolving but sometimes, when you are renowned for something and do it so well, you become your own gimmick in a sense and you carry that shtick throughout your career. 2017 see's them release their brand new EP "Sound The Alarm"; their first for PURE NOISE RECORDS...can they still go far with the ska?
We open up with "Call To Arms" and after a brief bass-driven intro we quickly burst into the typically up-beat punk rock sound that LTJ have made their own. The chorus has more of a pop influence at heart and the key change towards the end of the song backs this up, this is very easy on the ears and starts the EP rather nicely. By contrast "Whatever The Weather" slows things right down and put's more emphasis on the use of trumpets and to some degree it sounds almost Caribbean-inspired. While still very much LTJ and easy on the ears, the change in tempo gives off a more mature approach to what they typically do.
"Welcome To My Life" proves this further with another slow-jam of a track that would easily appeal to fans of say, UB40 and in it's own way it has some of the innocent indie-pop charms and aspects of THE 1975 in it's delivery, but they haven't forgotten how to have fun, not at all, EP highlight "Bomb Drop" explodes with a flurry of punk rock with no less energy than these veterans had two decades ago, no doubt a great inclusion in future live sets, while first single and closing track "Things Change" ends things with more of their classic feisty ska-punk.
Whereas LTJ have put out a strong EP here, they are at that point in their career now where it's unlikely they'll break new ground. Fans will love this is without fail as it ticks all the usual boxes but at the same time it IS pretty much more of the same. There are some good tracks on offer here but if you aren't particularly impressed by ska-punk then this probably wont change your mind too much. Maybe you're more into rusty trombones...I dunno. [7]
We open up with "Call To Arms" and after a brief bass-driven intro we quickly burst into the typically up-beat punk rock sound that LTJ have made their own. The chorus has more of a pop influence at heart and the key change towards the end of the song backs this up, this is very easy on the ears and starts the EP rather nicely. By contrast "Whatever The Weather" slows things right down and put's more emphasis on the use of trumpets and to some degree it sounds almost Caribbean-inspired. While still very much LTJ and easy on the ears, the change in tempo gives off a more mature approach to what they typically do.
"Welcome To My Life" proves this further with another slow-jam of a track that would easily appeal to fans of say, UB40 and in it's own way it has some of the innocent indie-pop charms and aspects of THE 1975 in it's delivery, but they haven't forgotten how to have fun, not at all, EP highlight "Bomb Drop" explodes with a flurry of punk rock with no less energy than these veterans had two decades ago, no doubt a great inclusion in future live sets, while first single and closing track "Things Change" ends things with more of their classic feisty ska-punk.
Whereas LTJ have put out a strong EP here, they are at that point in their career now where it's unlikely they'll break new ground. Fans will love this is without fail as it ticks all the usual boxes but at the same time it IS pretty much more of the same. There are some good tracks on offer here but if you aren't particularly impressed by ska-punk then this probably wont change your mind too much. Maybe you're more into rusty trombones...I dunno. [7]
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