Single Slam – Things Change by Less Than Jake (Sound The Alarm)

Popular and influential ska-punk band, Less Than Jake have released a new single, called Things Change. The Florida based band have a brand new EP due out on February the 3rd through their new record label, Pure Noise Records. The new EP will mark 25 years of them being together which is quite a landmark for any band. It is to be called Sound the Alarm and Things Change is the first bit of new music released from it.

While I wouldn’t call myself a fan of either the band or the genre, in the right environment the ska-punk scene can be great fun. At a gig, a festival or a party with a few beers the energy given off by these bands can be infectious. I just don’t think it always works so well when you are sitting on a train with your headphones in heading home from a hard day’s work.

We recently got to watch them on their Fireball tour in the UK, a first for me, which was really entertaining. You can read about that here.

Things Change is a sub 3 minute, up tempo blast of ska-punk. It has a bouncy intro of drums and guitars mixed with Peter Wasilewski’s sax and Buddy Schaub’s trombone. The verses run with a cool bass line from Roger Lima with Chris DeMakes singing along at a rhythmic pace. It has a catchy enough chorus where the guitars and Vinnie Fiorello’s drums jump back in with the brass section. There is a pretty cool instrumental near closing before the chorus is repeated through to the end.

Drummer Vinnie Fiorello released the following statement to coincide with the song’s release.

 “The only thing constant is change is one of the lines in the chorus of the song and such a massive truth to me. The sooner you could realize this, digest it, and embrace it the better off you’re going to be. Let it all move forward, at lightning speed. Everything and everyone changes, the world keeps on spinning like it or not. We started writing this set of songs, similar to our last record See The Light, sitting around a table in our warehouse with some acoustic guitars, lyrics scribbled on scraps of paper, and a constant barrage of ideas. Trying ideas as they would come out, sometimes chasing the idea, or getting connected or not connected to an idea right away. We had been writing and were planning on fleshing out the ideas while on Warped Tour.”

One problem I have is that I actually don’t think much of the singing. Never a good start.  I like the musical sections, especially when the brass instruments join in, but the vocals and lyrics are predictably boring. Things Change is exactly what I expected really. It is a song I would enjoy at a festival or a party but not one that I could bring myself to listen to very much outside of that environment.

There is nothing wrong with the song Things Change. It is just going to come down to personal taste. I can hear that as a ska-punk song, it is probably pretty good and ticks all the necessary boxes. There is nothing new here at all which will please some people and bore others. Stick it on at a party, grab a beer and you’ll probably enjoy it more then I have listening to it through headphones.

Check the song out for yourself here. If you like what you hear, maybe preorder the new EP from here. Why not check out their website for more information on them. Head over to Facebook or Twitter too and give them a like or follow to stay up to date with news on the band.