Gnv Fla - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Album Description
GNV FLA. Mark that as your destination to be one with Less Than Jake, an American ska punk band from Gainesville, Florida. Originally formed in 1992 as a power pop trio, the band evolved into a hybrid of third-wave ska and punk pop, with added elements of modern rock and even metal. GNV FLA is the seventh full-length studio album from Less Than Jake. The album's title is an abbreviation of the band's hometown, Gainesville, Florida.

Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

What hurt you once won't hurt you again June 26, 2008
7 out of 10 found this review helpful

Less Than Jake's "Gnv Fla" has come out with very little fanfare. No radio singles or videos this time, at least none that I have heard/seen. This is suited to an album that isn't quite as radio friendly as their last two. No song on this album is as catchy or memorable as "The Brightest Bulb Has Burned Out/Screws Fall Out," "The Science of Selling Yourself Short," "The Rest of My Life," or about a half dozen of the other songs on "In With the Out Crowd."

In general, most of the songs just blend together, and they don't lend themselves to singles, but that's just perfect for a concept album, and this is a concept album. The concept? Self-proclaimed underachievers from Gainesville accepting their fate, which is pretty much the concept of every Less Than Jake album, but this one is more cohesive.

1. City of Gainesville 8/10: It's an okay song, but it would've been better if it were a little longer. It leads right into...
2. The State of Florida 6/10: The chorus is kind of dumb, and it's repeated a lot. The song would have been better with some bridge lyrics.
3. Does the Lion City Still Roar? 10/10: At first I was iffy about this song, but now it might just be my favorite on the album. Aside from being really good and catchy, the album art for the song with the lion is really cool. Interesting note: I did a web search, and I think Lion City is actually in Singapore.
4. Summon Monsters 8/10: It's a catchy song that kind of does but really doesn't have a message. Curiously, the lyrics booklet says "sliver flasks." I wonder if they got the idea for the title from Yu-Gi-Oh!
5. Abandon Ship 9/10: Musically, this might be the most memorable song on the album, very good job on the horns.
6. Handshake Meet Pokerface 5/10: Less Than Jake doesn't really strike me as the motherly kind of band, and this song just isn't very good.
7. Settling Son 9/10: Father, on the other hand, gets a really fast guitar riff and some pretty good lyrics.
8. Malachi Richter's Liquor's Quicker 8/10: It's got some good old school punk lyrics, but the title is a little too cutesy and tough to say.
9. Golden Age of My Negative Ways 5/10: This song is clearly filler.
10. The Space They Can't Touch 7/10: This song sounds conspicuously familiar. I can't put my finger on it, but it's catchy.
11. Conviction Notice 6/10: Not bad, but it gets a little repetitive.
12. This One Is Going to Leave a Bruise 5/10: This is really just part of the buildup to the last song.
13. The Life of the Party Has Left the Building N/A: Not really a song, more buildup to the last track.
14. Devil in My DNA 9/10: For any other song on the album, this is a great song, but Less Than Jake specializes in spectacular closers, and this one was kind of disappointing. Same fade out technique used on "P.S. Shock the World."

All the negative aspects of this album being said, this is the punkest/skaist album Less Than Jake has released in a decade. It's like a big "What do you think now, Johnny Quest?"

5 out of 5 stars

Good Return to Form June 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I'm loving this album. I got my preorder in the mail the other day, and I've been spinning it nonstop since. Definitely a return to form for LTJ, and no doubt WAY better than In With the Out Crowd. Personally, I think it's their best album since Hello Rockview. Time will tell where this album stands in Less Than Jake's catalog, but for now I'm just going to enjoy this fun album just in time for summer.

4 out of 5 stars

More than Less Than Jake's last album June 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Remember the first time you heard 'Borders and Boundries'? If you're like me, all the greatness of that album didnt really sink in on the first listen.. I came to love 'Borders' over time. This album works in exactly the same way - it is not as over-the-top-catchy as 'In with the Out Crowd' which is probably why the first listen doesnt pack all the punch.

What we have here is a welcome return-to-form from Less Than Jake with a new collection of fresh and enjoyable songs that sound like they could have appeared on earlier LTJ albums (particularly 'Borders and Bounderies'). The band have included way more horns throughout GNV FLA than on the last album, bringing the true LTJ sound back. Youre going to love it!

It doesnt earn the 5 star rating for me however, as it doesn't quite meet 'hello rockview' standards... but is that even possible?

3 out of 5 stars

Doesn't quite live up to the hype July 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

So the story goes that this is "the comeback CD" by this band, the so called return to form, and in some sense, it is. Since the last CD "In with the Outcrowd" we see a lot of the old Less Than Jake coming back. We have the horns-a-plenty concept back at the front line, we have Roger's insanely techy underlying basslines, and the ever so catchy ska-guitar. This will remind you more of Hello Rockview than it will Anthem or their previous release. However, I'm hesitant to call it a comeback CD because there's something that's just eating away at my conscience.

That is catchiness. I wanted to fall to me knees and scream "It's the second coming" but it's not. The songs, while they are horn driven and most certainly more ska than radio friendly pop-punk, the songs aren't as fun as they used to be. A lot of the songs take on a depressing tone, especially the songs where Chris does the singing. Noteably the song "Abandon Ship" is just downright dismal. I will give them credit for "Lion City" the quasi single, as well as a good bunch of songs like "Golden Age of my Negative Ways" and "Space they can't touch" but a lot of the songs just blend together and aren't that good. Then, when they try to be fun, like on "Conviction Notice," it becomes repetitive and corny. Sure, Less Than Jake doesn't always sing about happy things, but before, such as on Losing Streak, they managed to make a song about selling drugs into the most upbeat fun song on the CD. Here, when the subject matter is bleak, the music is bleak.

Not saying that this CD isn't fun, it does have it's moments. Instrumentally this might be Less Than Jake's best CD. We have Chris busting out some neat guitar licks, Roger's bass is astonishing like it used to be, and we have horns literally everywhere. It just seems like in and effort to re-invent themselves, the boys forgot to have fun with it. Three and a half stars for a solid effort to go back to the glory days, but we're not quite there.

3 out of 5 stars

Old school ways coming back... July 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Less Than Jake, is one of my (3) favorite bands of ALL times, (Rancid & Goldfinger)...

Proud of the boys for "ditching" the idea of NOT putting horns in every song just because they have them. Yes, one of the main reasons we listen to LTJ is because they have horns. Its their staple sound.
...and they figured that out. There are horns all over the new CD.

After all, when you choose to listen to an AC/DC tune, you are not expecting a ballad and soft vocals... its AC/DC and you know it.

By the way, I went to the LTJ show last night at the H.O.B. in New Orleans... they were at the top of there game !!! Fantastic show, sounded great, and as always, LTJ played only (3) songs from the new CD and played tons of old tunes. They played for 1-1/2 hours and did a (3) song encore... (Gainsville Rock City, Dope Man and Plastic Cup Politics) ...outstanding show!!!

Back to the new CD;
With "Hello Rockview" and "Borders and Boundaries" being their two best CD's to date, (I would rate them as 5 stars) GNV FLA gets close but falls a bit short (just a taste under 4 stars.) To me it sounds like the latter (2) CD's I mentioned, but a bit more mature than those two CD's (musically).
The lyrics, however, are like novels. Way too many words in each song, to crowded with lyrics, they need to let their tunes breath a bit.

GNV FLA lacks vocal hooks...

I have been listening to the CD since its release (and digging it) and found only 2 or maybe 3 vocal hooks on the whole CD. Hell, when I want to sing along with one of the songs, I get the lyrics sheet out of the inside cover and each song is like reading a novel. Who wants to do that.

Anyway, that is my 1 and ONLY complaint with GNV FLA, too many lyrics and not enough vocal hooks. Well, that is technically 2 complaints.

The sound production is great, as always, the horns are back, finally, and musically, the mature LTJ sound is great! just too many lyrics.

This CD is definitely worth the buy, if you like Ska and Punk!!!
...and the show is one you DO NOT want to miss!
So, enjoy both.

Lil' Gleason

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