We were promised awesomeness and we got it
There appears to be something happening in Scotland: either their musicians are getting a lot better all of a sudden or people have just started paying more attention.
Last year I was a big fan of Frightened Rabbit’s latest long-player; this year the Twilight Sad has been getting headlines. Both are Scottish, both are on FatCat Records. Now We Were Promised Jetpacks is looking to make the same splash…and they just happen to fit that bill as well.
Their sound is akin to early Bloc Party, a muscular and tenuous rock that relies heavily on dynamic and propulsive drums and tense build-ups that explode into furious tempests of distortion. Lead-off track “It’s Thunder and It’s Lightening” is a perfect example (although not a perfect example of spelling/word use/grammar): the first two minutes is nothing but a few repeated guitar notes and Andy Thompson’s subdued vocal about the tenuous footing of a very, young drunk man. The rest of the band joins in for another minute of rising action before a cacophony of strumming and pounding drums washes over the listener, eventually settling into a groove that serves as the song’s denouement.
The frantic pace propels several of the songs on the record, including “Short Bursts,” “Moving Clocks Run Slow,” and singles “Roll Up Your Sleeves” and “Quiet Little Voices.” The second and fourth show off how keen their pop chops can be, sporting steady backing vocals, occasional disco-like beats, and the catchy vocals flowing from Thompson’s strong, soaring tenor.
“Conductor” is the bridge from Jetpacks to Frightened Rabbit, a band they opened for before signing to FatCat. It starts with acoustic guitar and glockenspiel, the vocals cautious and meek compared to some of the record’s more bombastic performances. Like most of the songs on These Four Walls it is lined with cautious tremors of emotion but avoids the overt, pleading neediness displayed by some Frightened Rabbit tracks and and most post-Silent Alarm Bloc Party. It’s also one of many songs featuring the glock, which leads me to believe this band or possibly their producer employs a full-time glockenspieler. Or is it glockenspielist?
One of the biggest highlights on an album with many of them comes towards the end with the eight-minute “Keep Warm.” Its quite a feat for the still-young band, showing plenty of patience while progressing through at least a half dozen stages. It begins with a full minute of quiet ambiance before the bass emerges, guiding the audience gently towards some lovely glockenspiel and what sounds like keyboards. The guitars and distortion gradually amp up over the next couple of minutes, filling the speakers with what sounds like the culmination of a journey, a summation of the dramatic highs and lows of the previous half hour of music. The rising flood suddenly breaks just after the four minute mark, leaving Thompson to proclaim a simple fact of life: “The chances of being born are so slim/so keep warm/and take some heart/being born quite so young/you can learn to talk and learn to walk/in your own time.” They then spend another three minutes exploring quiet/loud dynamics in a way that would make Frank Black proud. It all comes to a dizzying head before the bass walks us into hushed acoustic closer “An Almighty Thud,” three-and-a-half minutes of sorely-needed quiet contemplation.
We Were Jetpacks’ lyrics deal frequently with being a young Scot; making it home before curfew on a drunken night, realizing that you have years ahead of you to figure out what direction you’re really headed in, the voices in your head that push you into places you shouldn’t go. While some might seem thin or abstract on first blush, Thompson’s repetition and earnest singing imbue them with a certain weight and help drive the point home with more clarity. Be warned though, there is quite a bit of lyrical repetition here. If you have trouble stomaching repeated phrasing then keep your distance.
On its whole this is definitely one of the strongest debuts I’ve heard all year. WWPJ have fine-tuned a well-realized sound that pulls in elements from all those well-known Scottish bands you’re already familiar with and puts its own wailing, frenetic spin on them. This is a band to watch.
We Were Promised Jetpacks - It's Thunder and It's Lightening [4:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download We Were Promised Jetpacks - Quiet Little Voices [4:21m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadBuy, buy, buy the LP, CD, MP3s, or 7″ singles from the FatCat store or the album only from iTunes.
nice! this band kills it
Just like a Scottish Bloc Party. I really dig it. Nice find.
sounds like the band thursday album full collapse…..all good though!