Less Than Jake

Sound The Alarm EP

Written by: PP on 29/03/2017 22:02:33

Three years separated from their eighth full-length album "See The Light", Less Than Jake keep their two-and-a-half decade ska punk truck rolling with a seven-track EP called "Sound The Alarm" released via Rude Records and Pure Noise Records last month. As usual, the band delivers a high-octane, fun-driven ride of infectiously catchy ska-punk that's unmistakably in the vein of signature-sound Less Than Jake material. So it's a familiar soundscape waiting for any long time fans of the band, and arguably extra familiar given how far back songs like "Call To Arms" and "Bomb Drop" reach sound wise. We're talking "Losing Streak" and "Hello Rockview" style material here, ladies and gentlemen. Is your mouth feeling watery just yet?

To be fair, we're not exactly in timeless classics range, rather than just rock solid range. "Things Change" is upbeat and fun, danceable track that's quintessential Less Than Jake. Same with "Good Sign". It's as classic LTJ as it gets. Play this song to anyone as a perfect introduction to the band: vibrant horn melodies, fast-paced and tight punk rock guitars echoing the golden 90s Epitaph/Fat Wreck years, and sing-alongable lyrics delivered with semi-scratchy, halfway rough but instantly catchy vocals. There's not much more you can ask from a great ska-punk track, really.

That pattern essentially repeats itself throughout the EP. Aside from the slower and pop-driven "Welcome To My Life", the record blends together part "GNV FLA", part old albums, and part "Greetings From Less Than Jake" as a nice reminder of what this band is all about. If ska guitars and trumpets aren't your thing, fair enough, but for everyone else, LTJ delivers another banger of a record, as we've come to expect from them.

Download: Call To Arms, Good Sign, Things Change, Bomb Drop
For the fans of: Reel Big Fish, Streetlight Manifesto,
Listen: Facebook

Release date 03.02.2017
Rude Records / Pure Noise Records

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