Less Than Jake - Gnv Fla Review
Posted by Jesse Coy on 07.06.2008
Ska/pop punk veterans issue the first release on their own indie label... take a trip to Florida.
Less Than Jake Gnv Fla
June 2008
Sleep It Off Records
I’d heard of Less Than Jake before, though I was never sure where they were pegged… ska or pop punk. Maybe the reason was because they straddle both. Here is yet another fresh review, as in I am approaching this album as a new listener to the band, who have six prior albums under their belt, their debut dating back to ’95.
For me, this is a real mixed bag. I will say right off that I’m no fan of pop punk, as it’s been dubbed. Yet I am a big fan of ska. So basically this one has tracks I really like, and some tracks I sort of don’t like at all. Examples?
I don’t like the first track, “City of Gainesville,” at all. Is it sarcasm, or an anthem of the prototype pop punk type fan that kind of repels me as much as a slacker. Much of this started with Green Day… who I’m not a fan of. On the other hand, I really like “Does the Lion City Still Roar?” It’s a wicked, punchy ska track. And I also really like “The State of Florida,” a nice, critical look at the state in kicking punk mold. Good stuff here…
Knowing that Less Than Jake had a history, I did some poking around with a Wiki stick. Apparently, Less Than Jake’s roots were ska, as in third-wave ska. I like a number of the third-wave ska bands, so maybe it would be interesting to dip into their very early stuff. Also something of note is that this is the band’s first release on their own label, and I always like to see that (and support that).
Since I wasn’t too hip on the opening track, I wasn’t sure how I liked the vocalist, Chris Demakes (vocals and guitarist). He and the drummer, Vinnie Fiorello, are the band’s founding members. Anyhow, his style differs on other tracks. He’s got a quality that reminds me a bit of the Bad Religion vocalist.
I like the mother and father releases on this one, which are back to back. “Handshake Meets Pokerface” is actually a great working mother anthem, and “Settling Son,” the father song… that’s got an awesome metal guitar riff via its bleak landscape of a forty-hour week in the factory for years that pass like lightning.
These two tracks are followed by a pair of tracks I’m only okay on… “Malachi Richter’s Liquor’s Quicker” (nice title, though) and “Golden Age of My Negativity”… but then after that, “The Space They Can’t Touch,” I think it’s a great track, and I really like the vocals there. That’s matched with and followed by the very catchy ska punk blend of “Conviction Notice.”
So, yeah… this one is a roller coaster ride for me. And the perfect example of that is that while I don’t like the opener very much (mostly the lyrics or subject matter), I think the closing tune, “Devil in My DNA” is an exceptional track. Maybe it’s a reply to the first track, someone reflecting on where the fault lies in a fucked life.
The 411: As someone new to the band, and a ska lover, there're a lot of tracks that really stick with me here. They easily overshadow any tracks I'm less than fond of.
You do realise that LTJ has 2 vocalists right? Also this album is about 10 times better than the last one they did.
Posted By: Jonw36 (Guest) on July 06, 2008 at 07:53 AM
You really suck at writing reviews. Stop telling us how you feel about certain songs and discuss WHY in an objective manner.
Posted By: Guest#6055 (Guest) on July 06, 2008 at 06:50 PM
I was really dissapointed by this review. I never read musical reviews on this site, because usually nothing I care for gets reviewed. But Less Than Jake, while I own no albums of, is a band that I'm familiar with. And as a fan of ska music since the third wave boom, I was interested in how they were doing a decade later.
It was just a bit too much of I like this and I don't like that, but not enough of what evoked these reactions in the reviewer. Basically, by the end of the review, which seemed to end rather abruptly, I wasn't sure if the album was something I would be interested in sampling or not.
Posted By: G-Walla (Guest) on July 06, 2008 at 07:25 PM
Gotta be honest here and say that it doesn't sound like you know enough about LTJ to warrant reviewing their albums. I mean, hell, you practically confessed it. What's the point of reviewing something if you know nothin about what came before?
I haven't heard this all yet, but from what I have heard of it, I agree with Jonw36, this beats the crap out In With The Out Crowd any day, and what spawned it, the fact that they didn't have to deal record companies making them produce crap rather than what the fans wanted.
Posted By: Jimbo (Guest) on July 07, 2008 at 12:52 PM
nice review. it matters that you were honest up front with where you were in the history of LTJ. props to pulling up old LTJ to see what they manifested. i agree with the synopsis. up and down. this is a good thing with them controlling their music. the industry put that pop punk magnet out there and said we can make you famous. when they stick to their ska and punk they are instantly famous. sometimes you gotta dig to find your roots, kid.
Posted By: B (Guest) on July 10, 2008 at 10:29 PM
As per this question... " What's the point of reviewing something if you know nothin about what came before?"
I think there's a huge point to reviewing something with a fresh perspective and not referencing past material. Can an album stand on its own? With each new album, new fans are gained by a band who only have that particular release as a reference point.
I think this is not only very valid but very valuable. And I doubt I'll change my ways any time soon. Sometimes I'll know a band inside out, sometimes just in segments, and sometimes not at all save what I have in my hands.
Posted By: Jesse Coy (Registered) on July 11, 2008 at 01:41 PM
I have every Less than Jake album, and this is definatly not there best. I actually prefer In with the out crowd. Anyway i think Borders and Boundries is there best, and this review did suck a little.
Posted By: David (Guest) on August 04, 2008 at 06:01 PM
