These Four Walls

Young Edinburgh, Scotland-based quartet We Were Promised Jetpacks mash together everything good about Scottish music on their debut album, These Four Walls-from the guitar thunderheads and cinematic wind tunnels popularized by Mogwai (“Keeping Warm”) to the wide-eyed angst of the Twilight Sad (“Quiet Little Voices”) and delicate acoustic moments of tourmates Frightened Rabbit (“This Is My House, This Is My Home”). Still, Walls tends to fade into the background during its instrumental moments, dulled by textures and emotional ebbs (i.e., lost-in-space piano, mournful glockenspiel, a sampled telephone message) that just aren’t very distinctive. Better are sharper rock songs, like “It’s Thunder And It’s Lightning,” whose math-rock/post-punk touchstones and howling vocals–seriously, Adam Thompson screams like Adam Lazzara’s Scottish cousin, thick brogue and all–force you to pay attention.

GO DOWNLOAD: “Roll Up Your Sleeves"

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