Search - Less Than Jake :: Gnv Fla

Old school ways coming back...

The Dude | 07/17/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Less Than Jake, is one of my (3) favorite bands of ALL times, (Rancid & Goldfinger)...



Proud of the boys for "ditching" the idea of NOT putting horns in every song just because they have them. Yes, one of the main reasons we listen to LTJ is because they have horns. Its their staple sound.

...and they figured that out. There are horns all over the new CD.



After all, when you choose to listen to an AC/DC tune, you are not expecting a ballad and soft vocals... its AC/DC and you know it.



By the way, I went to the LTJ show last night at the H.O.B. in New Orleans... they were at the top of there game !!! Fantastic show, sounded great, and as always, LTJ played only (3) songs from the new CD and played tons of old tunes. They played for 1-1/2 hours and did a (3) song encore... (Gainsville Rock City, Dope Man and Plastic Cup Politics) ...outstanding show!!!



Back to the new CD;

With "Hello Rockview" and "Borders and Boundaries" being their two best CD's to date, (I would rate them as 5 stars) GNV FLA gets close but falls a bit short (just a taste under 4 stars.) To me it sounds like the latter (2) CD's I mentioned, but a bit more mature than those two CD's (musically).

The lyrics, however, are like novels. Way too many words in each song, to crowded with lyrics, they need to let their tunes breath a bit.



GNV FLA lacks vocal hooks...



I have been listening to the CD since its release (and digging it) and found only 2 or maybe 3 vocal hooks on the whole CD. Hell, when I want to sing along with one of the songs, I get the lyrics sheet out of the inside cover and each song is like reading a novel. Who wants to do that.



Anyway, that is my 1 and ONLY complaint with GNV FLA, too many lyrics and not enough vocal hooks. Well, that is technically 2 complaints.



The sound production is great, as always, the horns are back, finally, and musically, the mature LTJ sound is great! just too many lyrics.



This CD is definitely worth the buy, if you like Ska and Punk!!!

...and the show is one you DO NOT want to miss!

So, enjoy both.



Lil' Gleason"

2 1/2 stars

J. L Owens | San Luis Obispo, CA United States | 10/27/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Honestly, I was disappointed. I completely appreciate what LTJ were trying to do with this album, creating one of their fastest, most punk albums maybe ever. However, apparently unlike a lot of the people reviewing this album, I miss the vocal melodies. Another reviewer touched on it perfectly: this album has a lot to like, but unfortunately, it just isn't that catchy, and to me personally, that's one of the most important aspects to music.

I love that the horns are back with full force and I like faster music better than slower music; this album is just missing the hooks. Hopefully if they are on an indie for their next album, they can feel that they got this album out of the way: that is to say, that they pleased their die-hard fans and showed that they haven't gone soft or were just making music to fulfill a contract. Maybe then they could go back to making music that pleases themselves. And maybe this is exactly what they wanted to make all along. But I'd like a mixture of this album and the hooks of earlier albums."