I have a long history with ska, and usually
encounter no trouble enjoying the acts that perform it, but for whatever
reason, Less Than Jake and I have never truly gelled. Through all of high
school and college, LTJ records found their way into my hands, and I even got
to see them open for Goldfinger in 2008. But they never impressed me, or even
totally made sense to me. Even though they had everything a good ska act
needed, and are celebrated as one of the great third-wave powerhouses, I have
just never understood their music, and have never found them to be anything
more than alright.
In pondering this strange disconnect, I asked a
good friend to recommend an album to reintroduce me, as he is both a huge fan
and pretty knowledgeable in all things LTJ. After some careful thought, he
steered me towards a copy of Borders & Boundaries, asserting that
this was the best record to show me how capable this act could be. Trusting in
his wisdom, I popped Borders & Boundaries into my car's CD player,
and although I am still not enamored, it has certainly provided me with a new
appreciation for this beloved third wave act.
If Less Than Jake is known for anything, it is
for energetic performances, and Borders & Boundaries is completely
stuffed with energy. Vinnie Fiorello smashes his drum kit about in thundering
slash beats, combining syncopated hits with Roger Lima's jazzy basslines. Chris
Demakes' guitar is crunchy with overdrive, but his crisp tone and full chords
fill out what little space the rhythm section doesn't have covered. Roger and
Chris trade off vocal duties, sometimes mid-song, creating dynamic and
interesting melodies to counterpoint the horn section, making Borders &
Boundaries loaded with tight and lively performances and a damn fun listen
from start to finish.
Between surprisingly tight production values and
driving composition, Borders & Boundaries makes for an airtight
listening experience, but as one spin will tell you, it is far more a punk
record than a ska one, a fact acknowledged by the band in a 2011 interview.[1]
The staple elements of a traditional ska sound are rather sparse on this
record; Chris rarely relies on upstroke chords and almost never turns off his
distortion, and although horn players Buddy Schaub, Pete Anna, and Derron
Nuhfer are full-time members of the band, their contributions only appear on
half of the songs, leaving the other half to the trio of the rhythm section.
The underdeployment or lacking contributions of
the horn section in Less Than Jake has always been a source of contention for
me, and it does feel like there is some unexplored melody space on this record.
However, the trio of Chris, Vinnie and Roger plays as an extremely tight unit
on Borders & Boundaries; their vigorous and youthful performances
really drive the whole sound of the record, and as hard as it is for me to
confess, they often don’t need all the horns (and Buddy admits just as much in
an interview shortly after Pete Anna left)[2].
Their enmeshed playing really exudes a meaningful energy that communicates a ton
all its simplicity, providing a thorough foundation upon which the horns can easily
be added as ornamental pieces.
As far as instrumentation goes, Borders &
Boundaries is exciting, detailed, and definitively pop-punk, and the lyrics
for the most part follow a similar vein. Most of Vinnie Fiorello’s writing is
straightforward, rarely edging into poetics, which perfectly fits their style
of music. However, the band has taken the time to weave an overlying theme into
most of their songs, specifically that of the effects of time passing. Many of
the songs take on a nostalgic feel, remembering old friends from the past like
in “Mr. Chevy Celebrity” or directly invoking memories in “Suburban Myth” with
lines like “I’ll show you where I lost my job / and where I got chased by the
cops.”[3]
But rather than wallow in the past, LTJ also takes a look at the future as it
approaches; “Pete Jackson is Getting Married” analyzes the oncoming rush of
adulthood in an exciting form, while “Last Hour of the Last Day of Work” dreads
that same idea. Although simple, Less Than Jake completely conquers their
lyrical theme of the passage of time, touching on both past and future
incarnations of themselves without fixating on them.
To my surprise (and more than a little chagrin),
Borders & Boundaries is actually loaded with songs that I can’t stop
spinning, but no two tunes receive more airplay from me than “Last Hour of the Last Day of Work” and “Is This Thing
On?” On Fat Wreck's website, the album is described as "a display of
significant growth for the band," and indeed, both of these songs present
a vulnerable side of the band that I had never heard before[4].
In each tune, Chris’ emotive vocals deal with insecurity in and suspicion of
the modern world, exploring how easily it is to get swept up in the surge of
the future. The lyrical anxieties in each tune are reflected by the
instrumentation which, while staying in the pop-punk field the band has
pioneered, utilizes major rises and minor falls in the chord progressions that
reflect and solidify the terror in Chris’ voice and Vinnie’s lyrics.
With messages like "you can't second guess
how to live your life,"[5]
both “Is This Thing On?” and “Last Hour of the Last Day of Work” step away from
the usual LTJ “gimmicky songs about our friends" feel (of which there is
no shortage on Borders and Boundaries) and actually open up to the
listener. This open exposure is something I did not think Less Than Jake was
capable of, and knowing that they can write songs with true meaning such as
these has definitely allowed me to appreciate them like never before.
Although in no way a mind-blowing experience, Borders
& Boundaries is a solid record in every way it needs to be: the music
is rocking, the melodies are catchy, and even the mistakes still exude fun. It
is, as Chris calls it, a record loaded with "staples" that LTJ is
"still proud of to this day," and I completely understand why it is
held in such high regard by both fans and the band.[6]
In exploring this record, I think I have finally established the connection
with Less Than Jake that I need to further explore and appreciate their
catalog, to experience the records I don’t know and rediscover the ones I used
to enjoy. Borders & Boundaries has become a true gateway into LTJ
for me, and I would be a liar if I said I wasn’t excited to see what lies
beyond.
Tunes to Check Out:
1) The Last Hour of the Last Day of Work
2) Is This Thing On?
3) Malt Liquor Tastes Better When You've Got Problems
Tunes to Check Out:
1) The Last Hour of the Last Day of Work
2) Is This Thing On?
3) Malt Liquor Tastes Better When You've Got Problems
