Less Than Jake – Pezcore

• 3rd Apr 2008

Its all trombones and upstrokes on Less than Jake’s ‘Pezcore’- a reissue with bonus live DVD.

For a long time Less than Jake have been the stalwarts of ska-pop-punk and they seem to be simultaneously able to encapsulate the movement as well as remove themselves from it, Jake know their audience and on ‘Johnny quest thinks were sell-outs’ adopts that wry smile and self depreciating humour that’s almost as much a part of their sound as Manganelli’s bass lines.

Throughout the eighth teen tracks there’s rays of ska sunshine, ‘Shotgun’ & ‘Liquor store’ being perfect Less than Jake tracks; and the ones destined to be referred back to when kids say “I like their old stuff better”.

Bands rise and fall on their live performances, and Jake soars. Constantly aware of themselves and what they are proficient at. Live Jake are seamless, flawless & funny-there’s an energy which cannot be faked, that puts the audience-and to some degree the viewer on a contact high.

Not just a run through of the tracks on the audio c.d, the live DVD contains other renditions; and when Winger is advertised as playing the same venue in a few days it reminds us that whereas some peoples music can become stagnant and obsolete Less than Jakes will continue to sound fresh.

Reissues can, and often are looked upon with distain, that someone is cashing in on a bands newly found fame, or changing to another record company; fortunately that smell doesn’t linger around ‘Pezcore’ at all; instead it acts as the perfect opportunity for the uninitiated to experience something ska,punk-pop fans have been privy to for some time.

If there’s a black hole of selling out, at the centre of the music universe, Less than Jake represent the shining ska star furthest from.

Mark Cooper.