Emotionalpunk.com
Media Review
Music Quality: 5.0
Production: 7.5
Originality: 4.0
Tracklisting
2. A Still Life Franchise
3. Overrated (Everything Is)
4. Fall Apart
5. In-dependence Day
6. Don't Fall Asleep On the Subway
7. Land Mines And Landslides
8. The Rest Of My Life
9. Mostly Memories
10. Let Her Go
11. Hopeless Case
12. P.S. Shock The World
I’m sure a hundred people have the same story I do about Less Than Jake. In middle school, which is now about 6 years ago, I fell in love with “Losing Streak,” the timeless pop/ska masterpiece album. “Losing Streak” is easily as relevant and special to me today as it was back then, when I joined the ranks of diehard LTJ fans.
As time passed, Less Than Jake never got the recognition they seemingly deserved. “Hello Rockview” came out on a major, and I absolutely loved it—it seemed to be a move in the right direction for the group—but that might be the last time I was ever truly moved by a Less Than Jake album.
The band moved to Warner, still undiscovered by the mainstream—they released “Anthem.” It felt like the band was doomed to never break free of the constraints and titles of an underground sensation—which I felt was an atrocity.
Their dedicated fanbase kept their strong support as I felt myself drifting into a sense of indifference about Less Than Jake. Indifference might be the best way to describe my reaction to their second Warner release, “In With The Out Crowd,” which was filled with the remnants of the past, it seems. The songwriting on this record is perfectly aligned with the writing on “Anthem.” Sure, it has its higher moments: the infectious and sincere "Mostly Memories," for example; "Hopeless Case" might be the most sincere, delicate song the band has ever written, in fact. Overall, though, there are scattered horns, simple chord progressions, and despite a few new glimpses of Cure and Police influences (notably, "Hopeless Case")--in the end it’s just another record from Less Than Jake.
If you think about it objectively, “In With The Out Crowd” could’ve come out at any time in Less Than Jake’s career after “Hello Rockview.” Less Than Jake are the same anthemic, poppy, catchy rock band with horns they’ve been since then—and while this record obviously has new tracks, it doesn’t really have a new sound from the band.
So while I wasn’t disappointed, you could probably say this album met my expectations, in a way. “In With The Out Crowd” only reminds me of a time much more special to me, when Less Than Jake’s youthful glance toward an exuberant future were bright, cheery, and refreshing.