Less Than Jake

Sound The Alarm

FILE UNDER: Ska-punk veterans defy the LP format
ROCKS LIKE: Snuff, Streetlight Manifesto, Reel Big Fish
WHAT'S DIFFERENT: Not only is the lion’s share of these seven songs focused on the guitar-driven, punk half of the band’s descriptive dyad, but these Florida greybeards excellently interweave an alt-rock sensibility into the bleating horns and Fat Wreck-styled melodies in “Call To Arms” and “Things Change.” So it’s not really that different, but it’s still really good.
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: LTJ have been at the forefront of a subgenre many consider limited (if not a guilty pleasure) since the early ’90s, yet they continue to successfully sustain themselves. If paying firsthand witness at how to make headway in this crazy business interests you, here’s a primo example. Their energy is immutable, plus it’s got a good beat and you can dance (or mosh) to it. 
OUR PICK: “Call To Arms”

Pure Noise Records http://purenoise.net/