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Record Label: Warner Brothers
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In case you've been living under a rock, Less Than Jake have, for over ten years, been one of the biggest, baddest names in ska music. Popping on the scene with their debut album Losing Streak, Less Than Jake have redefined ska music and catapulted what is now called "the third wave of ska".
What is ska? I hear you asking. It's a tricky question that can best be answered by describing it as a meeting between reggae, Caribbean music, jazz, and funk. Early players of this original island sound include The Skatallites (the originators of the ska pun in a band name), Toots & the Maytags, and Jimmy Cliff. Even a young Bob Marley experimented with this funky sound!
A decade later, ska music resurfaced in England in the form of New Wave. Bands like The Specials and Madness created a new peppy ska sound, this time with punk and 80s music thrown in. Unfortunately, this sound never caught on and fizzled out after a few years. (Remember "Our House"...?)
Then comes the "third wave." Led by the punky charge of Less Than Jake, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Assorted Jelly Beans, Rancid, the Suicide Machines and others, it took the punky-ska sound of New Wave and punked it up even further. The resulting sound launched the highly infectious and rowdy third wave, which appeals to all fans of ska, and is even enjoyed by punks, skaters, and even fans of hardcore and metal.
The ska scene achieved huge popularity with crossover acts like No Doubt and Smash Mouth (who really only played ska-tinged pop music), and the resulting backlash set ska back by ten years. No one wanted to hear it anymore and most of the diehard fans fled the scene to join the then-budding emo movement. (Trivia trivia - today's Jimmy Eat World fan was yesterday's Bosstones fan!)
But Less Than Jake never sold out, stuck to their sound, and now roar back with a ferociously brilliant new album, aptly titled ANTHEM, which is as good, if not better, than Hello Rockview.
The album begins with a downer, "She Is Gonna Break Soon", a weak track that is completely skippable. And then POW! Kick ass ska for the next 40 minutes. Skank along to "Short Fuse Burning", "Surrender", and "Plastic Cup Politics". There are many other great songs, and the whole album through is a consistently good and rockin' ska album. In fact, I don't think I've heard such a good album since the Bosstone's Let's Face It.
Ska fans aren't the only ones who will enjoy "Anthem." "Welcome to the New South", "Ghosts Of Me And You", and "The Last Time" put the ROCK in Punk Rock. Whether you're a fan of old school Green Day-style punk or enjoy moshing to the new school of Rancid, you will LOVE Less Than Jake's punkier tunes on this disc.
They have a song called "Motown Never Sounded So Good"… well, fellow rude boys and girls, SKA has never sounded so good, and big props to my Less Than Jake bros for resurrecting this most excellent sound. "Surrender" and pick up this CD! |
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Bottom Line: I think any Less than Jake fan would love this record. I did.
Notable Tracks: " the science of selling yourself short," "Surrender," "Plastic Cup Politics."
Reviewer: Adamo el Guapo |
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