Less Than Jake – Hello Rockview
(Capitol Records)

Just when you thought Less Than Jake had taken the power-pop-ska-punk thing just about as far as it could possibly go, they manage to keep things from getting stale by turning out a new album with a new and improved sound.

On Hello Rockview, the band sounds tighter than ever, with notable improvements in drumming as well as in their horn section. The horns in particular sound much more full on this album after replacing their alto sax with a second trombone played by ex-Slapstick member Peter Anna. The guitar parts on the album also show signs of growth, offering more variety and creativity than they have in the past, and at times sounding stylistically similar to Blink 182 (check out the song “Motto” for example).

Despite some of the changes however, Hello Rockview still could not be mistaken for anything but a Less Than Jake album, thanks in large part to the characteristic (and sometimes humourous) over-harmonizing in the vocals of Chris (guitar) and Roger (bass). Less Than Jake also continue to be a ska-punk band that places the emphasis squarely on the punk side of things, and unfortunately, this once again leaves out the horn section in a lot of cases.

While this album is not solid from start to finish, Less Than Jake do provide a number of songs that are arguably their finest material yet, and I really think this one is worth picking up. — Sean