When we listened to Mighty Mighty Bosstones seminal 1997 album Let’s Face It earlier this year I described ska as “the genre of music that’s playing on a loop in a toddler’s head”, which still stands as one of my favorite genre descriptions that I’ve made on this site since I embarked seven months ago to listen to one album per day. It’s a perfect descriptor that I clearly stole from one my friends at some point and I love it.
Less Than Jake’s Hello Rockview fits the bill perfectly. As part of the third-wave ska movement in America during the 1990’s, Less Than Jake was a fixture on the Vans Warped Tour and basically a guaranteed good ass time. Between all the massive brass instruments, walking bass lines, clean guitars on the upbeat, massive power chords, and throaty vocal delivery there’s not a song here that won’t get your head bumping up and down.
Less Than Jake makes me feel like grabbing a 12-pack of Natty Light and meeting my buddies behind 7-11 on a Friday night.
Standout Songs: “All My Best Friends Are Metalheads”, “History of A Boring Town”, “Nervous In The Alley”
