Less Than Jake

Greetings & Salutations

Written by: PP on 03/11/2012 17:28:58

It's been four long years since the previous Less Than Jake album "GNV FLA", which I think many of you will agree is one of their best records despite the band having existed for a long while now. So a new record from the leading ska punk band was long overdue, and subsequently we're welcoming their new record "Greetings & Salutations" with open arms especially because it's every bit as good as "GNV FLA" was four years ago. Now, some of you may have heard ten out of the twelve tracks on this disc before, considering it's essentially a piecing-together of their two EPS "Greetings From Less Than Jake" and "Seasons Greetings From Less Than Jake" that were released during the last year with two additional new tracks. But the EPs never received wide exposure, which is why we're sitting here today with a copy of "Greetings & Salutations" in our hands, and since both EPs were great, hearing them on a single release...well, I'm not complaining.

The key difference between this and "GNV FLA" is that the latter was a dark album both thematically and music-wise. In contrast, "Greetings & Salutations" is a return to the joyous ska punk melodies of the early days, providing a much brighter and happier stance melody-wise than its predecessor. While it removes some of the dark grit that made "GNV FLA" so good, it compensates with a simple positive attitude and fantastic sing along songs like "Harvey Wallbanger", "Can't Yell Any Louder", and "Younger Lungs" which I think we'll all agree belong to the absolute musts in their future setlists. They're simply straight up ska punk with no bullshit, and an overload on melodic guitars, danceable horn instruments, and catchy vocal melodies. Essentially, just the way we like it from Less Than Jake and our ska punk songs.

"Greetings & Salutations" adds to the feeling that these last two albums display a rejuvenated and refreshed version of Less Than Jake that was in a real danger of fading out of favor with their fan base after both "Anthem" and "In With The Out Crowd" deviated a little too much from the band's core sound of the late 90s and early 2000s. These were also the two major label albums the band produced and as such they were far more polished, lackING the character and charm of the band's indie label work. That character has been back for a while now, and "Greetings & Salutations" simply helps to fortify Less Than Jake's position as the best ska punk band around.

8

Download: Harvey Wallbanger, Can't Yell Any Louder, Younger Lungs
For the fans of: Reel Big Fish, Streetlight Manifesto, The Real Deal
Listen: Facebook

Release date 16.10.2012
Rude Records

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