Album review: Less Than Jake – Silver Linings

2020 has been an absolute shitter of a year. With bands confined under quarantine restrictions and the outlook for the music industry uncertain at best, expect the next 12 months to bring with it a wealth of music written during the pandemic that will have an air of despondency. There’s undoubtedly more doom and gloom to come, but at least Less Than Jake are on hand to close out the year with a collection of typically upbeat ska-punk jams. Silver Linings, the Floridians’ ninth album, is full of fun and folly, which is something we could all do with right now.

A significant step up in quality from the band’s last release – 2017 EP Sound The Alarm – Silver Linings gets off to a euphoric start by way of opening track The High Cost Of Low Living, which possesses all the hallmarks of a classic Less Than Jake song, right down to the key change at its climax. Lie To Me, Keep On Chasing and The Test keep the energy levels high and the bouncy choruses coming, but while there’s little in the way of out-of-the-box thinking here, the comparatively laid back Lost At Home is a welcome change of pace, it’s slower tempo calling to mind old favourite The Science Of Selling Yourself Short.

It’s nothing big or clever, but this is still a welcome dose of positivity, and the kind of silver lining to our troubled times which offers hope that the good times will eventually return.

Verdict: 3/5

For Fans Of: Reel Big Fish, Goldfinger, New Found Glory

Silver Linings is released on December 11 via Pure Noise.

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