Digiartists' Domain Community!

I got the new Less Than Jake CD last week, "In with the Out Crowd." Actually, I got the special edition with live MP3's, remixes, and acoustic tracks, but I'm just here to talk about the new CD. For those of you unfamiliar with Less Than Jake, technically, they're a ska band. They have a track on the Digimon: The Movie Soundtrack, "All My Best Friends Are Metalheads" (an awesome song). For their new CD, they're more punk than ska, which I feel is an improvement, but the Amazon ratings show disagreement. Here's a breakdown:

"Soundtrack of My Life": 10/10, This is a great song with lyrics I can relate to.
"A Still Life Franchise": 10/10, Most likely about how cigarette smoking will lead to an early grave. It sounds really good.
"Overrated (Everything Is)" 10+/10, A true punk song! Lyrically, the best song on the album. "Having sex is overrated, so is always getting wasted [...] classic rock is so outdated."
"Fall Apart" 7.5/10, Great intro, and good verses, but the chorus is weak. This song falls apart.
"In-Dependence Day" 8/10, It's a good song, but it's not very catchy.
"Landmines and Landslides" 8/10, Another solid song.
"The Rest of My Life" 10/10, Similar in theme to Track 2, but with very different music. "It's gonna kill me the rest of my life." The music sounds kind of like a sad carnival ride.
"Mostly Memories" 9/10, A very catchy song. This is what Less Than Jake does best.
"Let Her Go" 7/10, The low point on the album is still pretty catchy, just lyrically sub-par.
"Hopeless Case" 7/10, Good lyrics, but musically lazy.
"P.S. Shock the World" 10+/10, Thirty seconds into this song, I found myself turning up my stereo. The horns are amazing on this one. Musically, the best track, and lyrics that mean a lot to a fellow writer.


So far, this is the best commercial rock album of the year. I think Good Riddance's new album (coming soon) will be the best album of the year (in my opinion), but that's not a major label rock album. So, right now, I'm saying that Less Than Jake's "In with the Out Crowd" is the best commercial rock album of the year.

Sounds cool. I'll have to see about this. And if I ever need any help on music buying I'll e-mail you about it.

Rise Against has a new album coming out on July 4 (appropriately enough). That will probably be the best album of the year, probably the past two years. Their other three albums have been insanely good.

Mmk...after reading your review a week or so ago, I decided I should probably get the CD, just to see if its as good as you said it was. I got it yesterday, and I've been listening to it pretty much non-stop. Thanks for the review, Wise, without I wouldnt have bought the cd! : D

I'm glad I could help. Though my tastes in music might not be what the majority of my peers listen to, I like to think that I know what sounds good. Though I own about 300 CD's, I really am quite picky.

Quote:I got it yesterday, and I've been listening to it pretty much non-stop. Thanks for the review, Wise, without I wouldnt have bought the cd! : D

Since you bought the CD, I'll give you the B-sides that I recently bought.

Honestly, I think Tool's new album is dominating every other modern rock album released this year. But that's just my opinion.
Besides, my tastes swing toward death metal, grindcore, and jazz way more than commercial rock.

Quote:Besides, my tastes swing toward death metal, grindcore, and jazz way more than commercial rock.

I like straight metal on occasion, but I swing more towards metal/melodic punk.

Are you, by any chance, a musician?

Quote:Are you, by any chance, a musician?

I know; you're a musician, so is my little brother, and he plays nothing but Beatles' songs. Does that sway our influences? Of course it does. You want novel and fascinating guitar melodies, so you go with Tool. Me, I'm a poet, a lyricist, a writer, a reader. I look for songs with deep, clever, and impassioned lyrics.

Heh, true. I'm into some bands with some of the most stupid lyrics i've ever heard, but yet I still dig them becuase of the hooks, or the melodies, or the grooves they create. I can't spot a meaningful passage if it's right in front of my face, but I can spot a nice, heavy hook or groove.