Albums

Album Review: Less Than Jake

[Album: GNV FLA]
[Label: Sleep It Off Records]

Back in 1992 a power pop trio from Gainesville, Florida got together and called themselves Less Than Jake. 16 years later and now the kings of ska punk with their own record label, the band are back with their seventh studio album and it’s a tribute to their hometown - something the band have been able to do on the freedom of their own label. Of ‘GNV FLA’ drummer/lyricist Vinnie Fiorello (who is also responsible for the album’s wacky artwork) said “Obviously to people who’ve been following us for awhile, the title is a tribute to our roots in Gainesville, but others might not have any idea, which makes it a little cryptic. We did that on purpose to kind of use those six letters as a metaphor, because if you look at the record lyrically it’s about chasing something better - though not necessarily in a good or bad way.”

“We’re two truck stops off the interstate/The promised land with a twist of fate”, the key lines to the opening track ‘City Of Gainesville’ is a fine example of Vinnie’s ambiguous lyrics. The song itself is a happy ska singalong replete with horns courtesy of Reel Big Fish’s Scott Klopfenstein. It rolls seamlessly into the faster ’The State Of Florida’ - GNV to FLA, y’see? It’s upbeat riffs, sax and drum grooves set the tone for the rest of the album.

Working with producer Matt Allison (Rise Against, Alkaline Trio) the band have managed to find a rougher-edged sound, something that is closer to their earlier material. The clean production values have been ditched and the result is something much more interesting - songs that are full of punch, passion and intensity. It’s not quite up there with ‘Hello Rockview’ but it’s certainly an album they can be proud of.

Latest single ’Does The Lion City Still Roar?’ will have you bouncing round the floor in your baggies with your knees pistoning up to your chin. ‘Summon Monsters’ is a gurgling beast with a frantic undercurrent of pinged bass, grumbling guitars before it breaks off into quickfire horn interchanges. Chris Demakes has suddenly touched base with his emo side as his vocal seems more nasal than ever before (especially on the high notes) - check out ’Handshake Meets Pokerface’ on the line “For over half her life she‘s worked from nine to five” and you’ll see what I mean. It’s a semi-autobiographical story of a single mother in a small town working intently to get by so she can chase the non-existent “American Dream” and certainly leaves you feeling a little despairing as it drags it’s feet rather by offering nothing but a repeating theme.

Despite containing fifteen songs it still only comes in at 38 minutes, but with songs of the quality of the Green Day-inflected rocker ‘Malachi Richter’s Liquor’s Quicker’ or the crushing strut of ’Antidote For The Underdog’ there’s no reason to complain - hey, I’ll even include the morbidly fascinating 40 seconds of ‘The Life Of The Party Has Left The Building’ as one to listen out for.

Ultimately it’s more a hit than a miss album and will no doubt be lapped up by fans of the band. There is much about this and the band’s new record label to be excited about. Talking about the future, Vinnie said “It’s been so cool to see five guys put together a record from scratch. To have it sound fresh and to stand up to the fans’ test are pretty fucking cool feelings. From here, the plan is to keep the creative juices flowing in the engine and continuously raise the bar for ourselves”. Watch this space.

For fans of: Reel Big Fish, Mad Caddies, Streetlight Manifesto
Band link = Less Than Jake

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