Album Review: Less Than Jake - GNV FLA
There’s not a lot to be said about the punk/ska genre - especially from someone who isn’t as widely familiar with Warped Tour as most. However, I have come to a conclusion…
You only need three essential ingredients for a proper punk/ska band: fun, good orchestration, and an energetic front man.
Less Than Jake has made it their business to not be taken seriously. When these Florida party boys from Gainesville stopped doing the Jefferson’s Theme Song and started releasing full LPs, they still had fun doing it. I admire that about any band in the genre, or any band period for that matter.
That being said over the years, punk has been brutally hammered by nonsense joke acts or emo kid karate kicks, but ska always seemed to stay close to it’s roots of having fun and looking good doing it. This release hearkens back to their debut, Pezcore, with a modern take and a more polished sound.
The down side? Their nostalgic memorabilia cannot suppress what looks to be another shotty pop punk album of the ’00s, with a few minor gems. Ska only shines through a fraction, and it seems another decent band of it’s heyday will fall.
As GNV FLA (abbreviation for Gainesville, Florida) begins, there’s this short intro called “City of Gainesville” (appropriately named) that reminds a lot of Sublime with its reggae-heavy slow vibe and lyrical scarcity. An excellent introduction that segues into (what a shock) “The State of Florida”. I admit the titling is clever on some frat boy scale, with their state pride definitely showing through. It’s your standard fast-paced ska track - and alongside it’s counterpart - a great opener.
Rumor has it that track three, “Does the Lion City Still Roar?” is the first official single. Sadly, it sounds to me almost EXACTLY like “The State of…”, and therefore makes me wonder if originality was nixed completely?
Enter “Summon Monsters”, which appears to be socially satirical with lines like “…money to monsters, exchanging hands.” The riffs ravage it beautifully with the punk roots showing. I make this my favorite song on here thus far. The next song, “Abandon Ship”, I’m sorry to say is a throwaway for my taste. Reminiscent of your stereotypical emo kid, crybaby track meshed with a finely-tuned brass section, it’s too easy to see this is filler at first play.
When the next title came up as “Handshake Meets Pokerface”, I was curious about how well their wordplay would pan out. With it’s funky ska rhythm, I found it catchy as can be and it included my aforementioned formula (minus my expected wordplay), so it’s a great track all-around. “Settling Son” seems to come off as a clone of Avenged Sevenfold, except in place of some prime lyrical prowess is a pathetic excuse for what sounds like Good Charlotte’s reboot (and Good Charlotte is bad enough).
“Malachi Richter’s Liquor’s Quicker” has only one proper comment to be made - great title, high expectations, low quality output. “Golden Age of my Negative Ways” and “The Space They Can’t Touch” hold strong as another pair of funky ska tracks to come standard from Less Than Jake - with a hint of Panic! At The Disco on the chorus of the latter, unfortunately.
“Conviction Notice” is a fair forgery if ska, but GNV FLA’s second honorable mention for wicked tunes (first still being “Summon Monsters”) goes to “This One Is Going To Leave A Bruise” for the brutal combo of ska and punk evident in it’s powerful chorus. “The Life of the Party Has Left the Building” is a short introduction track which has remnants of the very first track on the album, and so we’re left with the all-important closer.
Lucky for them, they nailed that down to a science in their 16-year career. “Devil in my DNA” is a priceless artifact if only on THIS album.
Overall I’ve made one thing becomes quite clear by the end of this song-by-song analysis - their luck has run out.
I’ve noticed this seems to be a running trend in pop punk. I was crossing my fingers for LTJ, but all’s well that ends well. While always a pleasure to see live, they didn’t live up to expectations. The emo vein runs them into the ground, and subtle rip-offs from other mainstream bands of the past 5 years obviously influenced them (in a bad way).
The formula is here - but the life of the party has, indeed, left the building.
Rating: 
Check Out:
“Does the Lion City Still Roar?”
I haven’t been listening to less than jake for a long time, but I hesrd “all my best friends are metal heads” and “history of a boring town”. I loved them. So I went out and bought their brand new album. I thought it was decent nothing compared to “Hello Rockview” or “losing streak” though. I liked it though.
Couldn’t wait for this album and it certainly didn’t disapoint, it’s clean but there so much happy ska, brass is awesome and sounds good with Scott from the fish. Worth buying anyday, quality….
not sure if any of you have noticed but less than jake has been changing their style, especially lyrically, throughout their whole career. my older brother who got me into punk/ska, back in the day was listening to turn the radio off and losing streak. him and his friends really liked less than jake’s sound so he picked up hello rockview when it first came out. but upon the initial hearing comparing rockview to losing streak, he was pissed. ofcourse rockview is one of the band’s gem of albums, and he’ll gladly admit that today. so time has proven people are always this way with less than jake. “oh no it’s a new album with less lyrics about getting fucked up” who cares dude. granted dopeman is a great track to burn to, and alot of their other songs are just as fun. and while lyrically they differ plenty from back in the day, this album proves they can still hold that energy while having deeper-ish meaningful songs.
plus i think this blew IWTOC out of the water as well as history. i’m not sure how i rate it with anthem, but i do prefer it over Borders. and not sure if any of you have seen them live recently but now they play a version of “Rest of My Life” that despite the serious undertone with the lyrics, is very heavy on the ska sound. at least with the brass.
I wouldnt review limp bizkit because id immediately say ‘what a load of shit’, and seeing as i have an ear for heavier music thats saying something. But its pretty insulting to see some guy who doesnt even understand the concept of ska reviewing a genre he obviously doesnt understand. If LTJ went back to their roots every album, then they’d all sound the same, and everyone would say they were shit because they cant progress. Also agree with colin up in the middle, if you want to see what LTJ are all about, then go and see them live, because unless you’re too miserable or narrowminded to have fun, and just stand at the back moaning about how you could do it better you’d have the fucking time of your life. which is exactly why leeds and reading festivals now have extra barriers to stop circle pits like the one in 2003-4 happening cos they got the whole crowd to do a circle pit around the sound tent
Man that review was harsh. Seems like the author is baised against this entire genre of music. Less Than Jake are still an amazing band. Their live shows are unique and wild. This album isn’t as powerful as I had hoped it would be, but it keeps growing on me the more I listen to it. I give GNV FLA a solid “B”.
Uninformed, not likely.
Biased, it’s a big possibility if your definition of ‘biased’ describes someone who is extremely selective of his musical selection. Hate to say it, but you call me elitist - I call you unwilling to accept another’s opinion.
I also would like to note that the article you cribbed that statement from is about an album most find repulsive, and therefore is not meant to be taken all that seriously.
One can’t judge by a simple quotation how an entire piece is formulated and produced. If that wasn’t a fact, one might deduce you’re being a bit arrogant and childishly insulting by simply reading this comment.
I will defend my critique because it is mine and mine alone - you can choose whatever you like to believe, that’s a freedom we all possess.
I do, however like the article you posted via hyper link.
I thought this review was pretty weak/bitter, with a little too much of your run-of-the-mill juvenile ‘music elitisms’ common in high school kids.
Author came across biased and uninformed.
Checked out his profile here and found this:
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“As per mentioned in my recent review of Disturbed’s Indestructible, I am a child of the 90s. So, with that being said, my guilty pleasure looms in the confines of nu-metal and rap/rock mainstream artist Limp Bizkit.
If there ever was a time to be an angry white kid in high school, it was 1999.”
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That = Pathetic.
Found this review to be much better, and written by someone who #1. knows how to write, and #2. knows what they’re talking about.
HERE: http://www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/?id=18803§ionId=54
say what you want, but i personally think GNV FLA is one of the strongest albums that LTJ has ever made.
although their sound might change slightly over the years, this is still the band that we’ve all grown to love and i think that GNV FLA is a breath of fresh air to all who have IWTOC stuck in their heads.
good job, Less Than Jake.
very well done!
It just seems far too commercial and badly marketed. It’s more akin to their unique style than their last release, but don’t advertise a return-to-form when it’s this far from the mark.
The real unfortunate thing will be if this ISN’T the last album. Hell, I love The Offspring, but I don’t see them making any more true-to-roots shit. This last album was sort of half-and-half, but though far better than Splinter, it’s about another Conspiracy Of One.
I know there won’t be another Smash, that was then and this is now - but like them, if LTJ have grown up and strayed too far from their form then it’s hard to get it back.
This one doesn’t do them justice, regardless of what genre you place it in.
GNV FLA is their strongest Album, No it wont be LTJ’s last album.
Also this is more of a Pop-punk album from a Pop-Punk band & it has Ska & Metal Influence.
I really didn’t mean to bash you, you write extremely well, so well that I felt I needed to object to your opinion so people wouldn’t be overly swayed by it. I do feel like you were out of your depth here and that any fan of LTJ would never ever agree with you, but anyone else surely might. There were so many references to other popular bands and “hot button” phrases that I just felt like it cheapened the worth of the album and the band, in general I enjoy reading your posts, but this one seemed less thoughtful and hasty than usual.
P.S. I’m glad other people feel the same way I do, but please try to be more thoughtful about it as insults really add nothing to the discussion.
You’ve got a poor ear, apparently. If anything, State of Florida sounds most like Summon Monsters. Double-time drumming and similar power chord progression. I’m not going to argue your score, because I understand subjectivity, but how you could consider a pretty standard third-wave ska track almost EXACTLY similar to a song bearing absolutely ZERO of those qualities (objectively, as well) is baffling. “This One’s Gonna Leave A Bruise” isn’t a ska track in any capacity either, and your labeling of it as such makes me question whether you have a working grasp on what ska actually is.
As far as I’m concerned, they sound alike to me.
Not to mention Summon Monsters is STILL the best song on GNV FLA.
Sad to say, but if I am going to ‘learn music’ it won’t be from some band of former punks who grew up and decided snazzy production meant more than a good record.
Your review was bad because it was riddled with factual inaccuracies, such as calling The State of Florida a ska track despite upstrokes or horns and saying it sounded almost EXACTLY like Lion City which prominently features both things. Learn music.
I never really understood people who sling childish insults for the sake of trying to make a valid point. Everything is a matter of opinion, and therefore wrong or right are irrelevant terms here.
I’m glad you enjoy the freedoms of posting such statements, but I ask that everyone keep the Kindergarten tactics in the cubby holes where they belong.
I will not deny it’s more of a ‘return to form’ than In With The Out Crowd, but it just didn’t live up to my expectations. Say what you want about the review and the album - and even me, if makes you feel better. Just remember that we’re all of different tastes, and flame-throwing on a website serves no purpose except to define the nature of one’s character and vocabulary.
GNV FLA is somewhere in the top 4 of LTJ albums. It’s excellent. Much better than In With The Out Crowd and Anthem. The general consensus is this is a huge return to form for LTJ and I think a lot of the reviews will reflect that.
Sorry you didn’t like it, but your opinion (much like your review) is wrong and you will eat your words on this one.
ALL OF YOU DICK’S TALKING SHIT ABOUT THIS ALBUM! GO SEE THIS SHIT LIVE AND I BET YOU DICK’S GO FUCKIN CRAZY!!! AND TALK ABOUT HOW GREAT IT WAS
I’m not sure where you’re getting the whole theme of them stealing influence from popular bands of the last 5 years but it’s quite ignorant of Less Than Jake as a band and how they’ve evolved, your review made me wonder how much LTJ you’ve actually listened to and whether you listened to this album more than once before reviewing it.
The reason I’m even posting this is so that anyone reading this doesn’t take too much from a review I felt was a little misinformed and shallow.
P.S. Those comments about emo veins almost made me throw up on my keyboard, sounds like you’re overly stigmatic about a genre and you’re taking it out on Less Than Jake for having lyrics that express any emotion at all.
I’ve been a fan of the band for a long time and have pretty much enjoyed every release. I’m probably one of the few that enjoyed In With The Out Crowd. I felt the songwriting was very solid, the tracks were memorable and they had just moved on to a different sound (a more commercial one if we are being honest). I’m not gonna judge GNV FLA too much just yet but the only songs which I have really enjoyed thus far are Does The Lion City Still Roar, Abandon Ship and Devil In My DNA, the rest sounds a little uninspired, but I guess I’ll give it some time to grow on me.
To be fair, I’m not here to verbally bash anyone or anything. In all due respect, I like Less Than Jake.
I just think that regardless of them trying to redeem themselves after their last release…it seems they are doing exactly what The Offspring did after Splinter - digging themselves deeper, but still slightly holding their own.
I hate to see their old style fade, and I understand the changing trends better than most listeners, but it isn’t excusable to market something as ‘old school’ when the only thing ‘old school’ about it is their loyalty to Florida and a few shining songs.
I do believe they could have done better, that’s all I’m saying.
In defense of Less Than Jake, if anyone was expecting GNV FLA to be another Losing Streak/Hello Rockview sounding album - you lack any basic understanding of music production.
The reason those albums sound so good now is because they’re familiar and they possess that raw ska punk sound of the 90’s. NO ONE is going to reproduce that. Ever. Unless you’re willing to produce an album that won’t get any radio play, TV film clip play or possible inclusions in other media, you simply can’t recreate that sound. You have to keep up with the times (as much as that annoys me).
Musically speaking though, the album definitely is a step back toward their old style from “In With the Out Crowd”. The main thing that’s bringing this album down is the production quality simply being too good and overproduced.
I can see the album growing on me. I quite like it already, actually, but there definitely are a few songs on there that will generate a high “skipped” count in my music library.
i agree.. they definitely pulled their socks up from that last shit of an excuse for an LTJ record.. yes its different and it isn’t the pezcore/losing streak less than jake in any way.. but it definitely reminds me of B&B and some anthem tracks which is better than digging themselves a deeper grave and losing their old fan base completely.. i say they still know how to rock and the new album definitely will please the majority of their older fans as it did me.. i don’t understand why the first two posts are bashing it so hard.. honestly if people respect that LTJ may have realized that they totally messed up with the last record and tried to redeem themselves trust that this is descent.. cause it is..
i am also jacked through the roof for LTJ AND BIG D in TO!!!!!!..
After “In with the Out Crowd” I think a lot of old school Less Than Jake fans felt like the band was completely changing genres. I mean a few of the tracks on that album were not that bad, the cd had more bad tracks than good ones.
GNV FLA has more tunes that are catchy and have that ska sound, which is good. The horn lines in this album are terrific, and really it’s nice to hear Buddy and JR get in there and show that they can still rock the brass.
So far I am pleased with this Less Than Jake album. I am not saying it’s perfect in any way, I really wish they would go back to the raw ska sound that they used to have, but thats hard with technology these days, everything can be polished to a tee. However, this album is definitely getting me psyched to see them this coming June in Toronto.
Be that as it may, we can certainly both agree their career has run it’s course - regardless of who thinks what about how good or bad that is.
Either way, they tried and (from my perspective) somewhat failed. Expectations were high because this genre is losing grip, and fans were hoping for a redeemer. They didn’t get it here, but there’s bound to be those who enjoyed the few gems it had to offer.
That seems a bit harsh. I think people’s expectations were way to high for this album. When I first listened to this album, I thought it wasn’t that great. But then I listened again, and again, and it grew on me. Now I love it as much as I love the other albums. I think this will be LTJ’s last album, unfortunately. A good way to end, if so.
Jan 14th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
[...] that is if you go by our review of the Gainesville, Florida rockers’ latest studio album, GNV FLA, and the mixbag of rather passionate emotion it [...]