Bright beach music

Reviewed October 2008

Gainesville, Florida's Less Than Jake has a sound that may seem very familiar to San Diegan ears. Combining the alt-ska sounds of Buck-O-Nine with the pop-punk of blink-182, Less Than Jake plays a music that is harder-edged than other '90s ska revival bands like No Doubt or Rancid, but with a stronger Caribbean groove than any punk band since the Clash.

But where the Clash could be dark and moody, Less Than Jake's music is eternally bright and sunnny on their tenth album, "GNV FLA."

Appropriate for a band from a college town like Gainesville, the new album is pure party music. Modern beach party music, to be exact. Uptempo and energetic, with a brassy horn section pushing things along even faster, the 14 songs here show that after a decade and a half together, the band has yet to start slowing down. Many a younger speed metal band would struggle to keep pace with the men of Less Than Jake.

Review by Jim Trageser. Jim is a writer and editor living in Escondido, Calif., and was a contributor to the "Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD" (1993) and "The Routledge Encyclopedia of the Blues" (2005).