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 | Less Than JakeAnthem2003 Warner 
 Review by: Adam See others by this writer ![[staff]](/images/icons/staffsticker.gif){kind=icon}
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Published on May 20th 2003
The break between “Borders & Boundaries” and “Anthem” is likely the longest (by a few months) in Less Than Jake’s career. Their fifth album (sixth or seventh if you count collections of early vinyl and b-sides) does indeed boast a new sound, a new label and a single gaining unprecedented airplay even for a band with such a huge fanbase.
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my favruot ska band Ah, Less Than Jake has become less of a ska band and more of a punk band. Granted, it would be nice for them to stay ska, but hey, I love punk rock too. Too bad more reviews on this site weren't like this one. I'll have to check this album out. whos the guy saying LTJ do blink jokes and suk at it?? nothing against blink cos theyv cum a long way but if you knew what you was talking about u'd kno that LTJ came before blink, so i doubt if LTJ really need to copy blink! haha looking at the comments here makes me realise how pathetic the 'punk rock community' actually is. Come on guys, keep me laughing "Im giving this one because I fucking hate their singer (the wussy little bitch sounding guy that looks like a chick)" Roger, the bass player, doesn't look like a woman... Im giving this one because I fucking hate their singer (the wussy little bitch sounding guy that looks like a chick) hey assholes.... i hate this band. chris, probably one of the worst singers i've ever heard. with that being said i actually liked one song. i hate this band though. and i hate them live too. talking about fuckin horses and stuff, is so blink 182 it's not even funny. grow the fuck up and get your own jokes LTJ. yur not funny you're annoying. This CD in a whole is by far different then anything Less Than Jake has released. It's something new. It's something new that I like. Less Than Jake has always impressed me and I have loved everysong that they have played. One the best bands of an era that is filled with so much rap and pop BS. I would like to say Less Than Jake is a band that takes away from that crap. Borders and boundries had nearly as little ska as this, so i don't know why everyones complaning about this. Boo Hoo they signed to a major, so did bad religion for christ sake, who cares anymore. The ethics of punk have changed so much, we might as well give up complaning. Johnny Quest still thinks their sellouts I grew up to less than jake this album is exactly where I am in life right now. different yeah but still very very good This album is one of the best that this band has produced other than pez core. I love these guys. Best review on the site, and by and by far the best cd of the year. God do I love this band! these plastic punk bitches good charlotte are very famous here in germany. that is the little difference between ltj and GC why are all ska bands saying fuck you to the ska? For me, I think it's plenty of fun. But maybe that's just for me. I'm always singing along to almost every song. ok... I made up my mind... I like the lyrics, even though it feels like I heard them all before they are really, really good. Still the problem with this record that it's nothing near as fun as the other records are. its different i still like hello rockview and boarders and boundries better but what ive heard is good and WHEN THE HELL DOES IT COME OUT IN AUSTRALIA I wish I knew why they took out the horns in Upwards War, because I have a liveversion and its loaded with blasts of horns, thats about the only track I don't like very much The only fault I can find with this album, is that the B&B Recording of Look What Happened kicked so much more ass. I've only been listening to LTJ for about a year, but i started with Pezcore and Losing Streak so even though I'm a new fan I got started on the older stuff. I definatly like their older style of using big horn fills and melodys than as just background. However, even though they have changed their style to a harder punk band, they are still a very good harder punk band. It's exactly the same for me as when Metallica released Load: they changed their style from metal to more alt rock, but they were still a very good alt rock band and I still love many of the songs from Load and Reload. (St. Anger changes all that though.) So even though LTJ is no longer a ska band like they used to be, they are still very good. after listening to this album pretty much non-stop for the past week or so, i've definitely made up my mind that it's getting a heck of a lot of unfair flak from people... I have been listening to Less Than Jake since I was 12....I am 20 now. I wasn't just a teeny bopper. They aren't NSYNC. This album has slowly but surely grown on me, and I find myself listening to it quite often now. I'm starting to like this album quite a bit. And, after much contemplation, I have decided that the new version of Look What Happened kicks so much more ass than the old one. underused horn section? Ever heard of Losing Streak? The horns anchored that record, Hello Rockview used the horns a lot as well. Now I love Anthem but I think you need to take a second listen to Losing Streak and Hello Rockview. Anthem uses the horns but ina different way and sometimes a more creative way, for instance at the end of Escape From The A-Bomb House. Great album. There hasn't been a LTJ album yet that I haven't enjoyed. A couple of lazy songs that sound like all their other songs, and a few more sets of lyrics by Vinnie about how much it sucks to live in Gainesville. They've been touring the world for almost a decade now, you'd think he'd find something else to write about. But besides those minor quibbles, I like it a lot. Oh - and to be safe, I'm 14, and I've been listening to LTJ for three years, and I haven't heard a song by them I didn't like. Oddly enough, every song by them is special to me in some way - and I just got to hear Ghosts of You and Me... it's... wow, at least in my opinion. They got a bit harder with the guitar and bass... I can tell that much, I like this new style, but I also like what they had with Losing Streak AND Borders and Boundries. They have balance across all their albums. Maybe I'm just weird. I'd give it 5 stars, but I've only listened to samples from the songs because no store in town carries Anthem yet! But I did listen to the MegaMix, and wow, it blew me away. I actually don't think She's Gonna Break Soon is all that bad - compare it to a lot of pop punk bands you see today, and it's actually okay compared to what you hear today most of the time - but I think one of their other songs off this CD should've been their 'popular' song. Also, my friend let me listen to the new Look What Happened... what the heck did they do to it?! It feels wrong. ohh yeah I have goodbye blue and white too but if I woulda said I had all the LTJ releases that would've been a lie and lying is bad. name dropping doesnt make you cool well...I've been listening to LTJ for about 5 years I have pezcore, losers..., losing streak, hello rockview, borders and boundaries and anthem...as of right now I can say anthem is really pushing losing streak for the title of best LTJ cd. I've been listening to anthem constantly since I got it last week. I say they deserve all the fame they get, they've been around a long time and have toured, recorded continuously...I've met them a couple times and are all really down to earth. she's gonna break soon may be the worst LTJ song out there but it's not even that bad...when you're listening to the cd all the way through it just fits in along with the cd. Great CD m/ Hey- I'm amazed you guys apologized.Thanks, very cool. I thought my comment would get lost... Ah well. I like all of LTJ's albums... Makes me wonder if I was born during the wrong year... i just posted.... to continue, its just that the older fans remember the way jake used to be. not just musically, but other things. i remember seeing them for less than 10 bux at a show with about 300 people at it. no bouncers, u could go on stage and skank and dive. they played nearly every song from losing streak. Sorry about that surreal, I didn't mean to use it as a stereo type. What I DID mean to say was that it's mostly their fans who like them for all their music that are voting more so than the ones that just like She's Gonna Break Soon. no, being 14 and liking good music and being cool is a possibility, but usually rare. i mean, cmon, most people under 17 or 18 havent really begun to think for themselves at least in regards to music. most listen to what is considered cool and then turn into rabid fans and scream their lungs out at shows, and annoy people there for the music, not cuz "matt skiba is sooooooooooooo hot" which i heard a 14 year old girl say at hte last alk3 show. or at an nfg show 2.5 years ago i heard a girl ask jordan for his water bottle. what the fuck? his water bottle? thats what bothers people on these boards. teenyboppers are usually the rule for those under 18, but their are exceptions. not some 13 year old girl yeah i wouldn't like Union or A-Bomb house at all if the songs din't rock so damn hard. Actually Union doesn't bother me that much, i think the metaphors are good. A-bomb though is just catering to wannabee latch-key kids, but the music saves it "And now the deal about no ska and lack of horns on this album..." i don't think she's gonna break is the WORST song, but i don't like it. i think 'thats why they call it a union' and 'escape from abomb house' are worst.escape from abomb...would be ok but the lyrics ruin it. dont' write songs about running away. its lame. especially if you're over 30. chirst like blinks stay together for the kids. uhhhh.... "So am I the only one who enjoys 'Shes Gonna Break Soon'? I think it's one of the weaker tracks on a great album. The result? A song that's still pretty damn good. Besides, I think 'Dopeman' is their worst single, and yet it's on my favorite LTJ album. Give the song a break." Chris is definitely a much better signer than ROger unless he sings like he did in "Al's War" or "All my best friends are metalheads" now he sings a lot higher. But the CD is still very good. "Here's some geek science for you: Losing Streak to this album is like The Empire Strikes Back to The Phantom Menace. Both have a lot of the same elements and characteristics of the first, and explore a lot of the same themes. For some reason however, the amount of gloss and commercial pandering results in something hollow and less artistic. She's Gonna Break Soon is this albums Jar Jar Binks." So am I the only one who enjoys 'Shes Gonna Break Soon'? I think it's one of the weaker tracks on a great album. The result? A song that's still pretty damn good. Besides, I think 'Dopeman' is their worst single, and yet it's on my favorite LTJ album. Give the song a break. Remember when LTJ toured for Losing Streak in '97 and Bigwig and Blink 182 opened up for them? That was pretty fucking cool. People need to begin to realize that Less Than Jake are probably no where even close to selling out, as several people think. Many die-hards complain that since their song, She's Gonna Break Soon (which I agree, isn't their strongest work ever)was on TRL and that they have sold out. I'd like to point out that the band sent out a message to everyone on their mailing list saying "vote for us on TRL" (no, those aren't the actual words they wrote, but that's the whole deal about the message), which means the majority of people voting for them (and the reason they were on) is because THEIR FANS who are signed up to their mailing list voted, not some 13 year old girl. Now, this is only a theory, but I'm willing to bet that it's right. Less artistic!? the whole design and concept is art. Did you realise the seperate work for each song to go with? So people complain that B&B was too underproduced and flat, now this is overproduced and glossy. It's punk rock, stop complaining about the production. If anything, B&B is Empire for it's gloomy soul-searching feel, Anthem is Return since it ties up the series quite well but those damn ewoks (one bad song, and less horns), leave die-hard fans bitching. Excellent. I totally agree with this review. I picked this cd up yesterday, and it was a very nice surprise. I think "She's Gonna Break Soon" is a terrible song, but the rest of the album is great. thats priceless... Here's some geek science for you: Losing Streak to this album is like The Empire Strikes Back to The Phantom Menace. Both have a lot of the same elements and characteristics of the first, and explore a lot of the same themes. For some reason however, the amount of gloss and commercial pandering results in something hollow and less artistic. She's Gonna Break Soon is this albums Jar Jar Binks. fuck you inagreendase I hate to be picky here....but Vinnie doesn't write all the lyrics anymore. and to whoever talked shit about them charging too much at local shows go to eddie C's man damn, or catch a rehasher show, its alomost the same thing. These guys are still cool as hell, they still come out and watch the small local bands and drink with everyone at the local bars. give it a rest. 1. hello rockview Here's to Roger becoming the permanent singer. Some of the new LTJ albums come with a DVD and a free t-shirt. That's why it costs $30. Saw it yesterday in Best Buy. Right on...I couldn't have said it better. DO ANY OF U HAVE EARS?! well, greased was like 8 songs 16 minutes long. i prob wouldn't have given too many shits about not being included. a little ticked off, but they recorded that around like 3 or 4 releases. losing streak, losers kings and maybe something else i'm not remembering. prob a re-release of pezcore or something i live in canada and i got this for $18, so if you're gonna pay $30 you're seriously being ripped off. where are the horns? it has been apparant since hello rockview that the band ditched ska. but you want to know what pisses me off? I seen the a few months ago in NYC and remember chris saying, "ska still lives" or something along those lines. If it does....then why bail on it? There is like one ska riff on the whole album and more importantly there are NO horns. I wonder what its like to be in the horn section...are those guys saying to themselves, "what the fuck? are we going to play on the album too?" Hey Pal. Unless it was a rerun, they were on there yesterday. Get a TV guide. just some things to address I've heard this once, and that was enough. I've been a fan of LTJ 3 albums now, but my first impression of this one isn't good. Lame. i bought my copy for 10$ at best buy, not 30$ I've tried to download a few mp3's to see if I'd want to buy the cd first, thats what I usually do with all punk bands. now let's see, do i give a flying squirrel's nutsack about these guys anymore? uh, no. Today, May 22nd, 2003. Less Then Jake were on TRL. 'Nuff Said. LOlbBQAsl!!1111111111 u suck omfg, lmmfgdmfao soybomb don't h8 u ung8ful fuck! "your retarded" Ive bought hello rockview twice cause i broke one. It can happen./ enough about less than jake. whos excited for the new catch22 cd !i sure as hell am.and i dont think there will be anything like shes gonna break soon on that one your retarded,they have had very few all out ska songs. maybe doug hastings, shotgun the pezcore stuff etc. but there was very little ska on losing streak and very little "real" all out ska on hello rockview. borders and boundaries had none and the new one has a little Solid, Solid album... Ive bought hello rockview twice cause i broke one. It can happen./ This album is really good. After I listened to it for a while it got better and better. It just isnt as good as losing streak or hello rockview. But its good, better than borders and bounderies. And to the idiot that said LTJ isnt ska. Shut Up! You are an idiot. Have you EVER heard any Less than Jake other tha borders and boundaries and anthem? EVERY song is ska. Not just "some". Come on. if you haven't yet see LTJ live, if you don't know the songs, you can't really tell whats old and whats new, except for the lack of horns in some songs. She's gonna break soon is a royal piece of shit that should never have been played. and yes there is a possibility of that wretched song ending up on MTV, but maybe this album won't be so bad for LTJ. hopefully and mainstream exposure they get from this single won't corrupt the band, and will instead convert some former pop kids to punk. I would compare this album to Blink's dude ranch, hopefully LTJ will never have an enema like blink but we'll have to wait and see. overall a good album, but she's gonna break soon could break the band. i've always hated this band this cd kind of reminds me of jacknife to a swan by the bosstones, its got the slow ska song "science.." "everybodys better"by the bosstones, and it has a few old elements, the difference is, the ltj cd was meteocre, the bosstones cd, was amazingly good less thanjake never was ska, they had a few ska songs, but if anyones seen the shirt with the three cartoon type boxes, the back says pop punk metal, not ska. and hey i bought the album, and yes shes gonna break soon is an annoying song, not a good choice for the the single. But hey plastic cup politics, is an amazing song and welcome to the new south is good except theres no horns, is it just me or does the look what happened remake sound the same with the exceptionof the new back up vocals and less horn section. and did anyone recall ltj playing a song tunnel under bridge and authority when they toured with bad religon a year ago? i was surprised not to see that one on this cd, over the cd is half horrible half amazing, and ska or not, they still have the same crazy energy which is why we all love them. i wish they had more WHOA OH OH's! "About the guy making fun of the guy that said pop-punk doesn't exist: after rockview my expectations were high, only to be let down by B&B. so this time, myexpectations were low, and shes gonna break soon sux my ass. but i got it anyway, and fortunately, she's gonna break is maybe the worst song on it, or close to it. its better than B& B. boarders was just so damn flat, the horns were flat, no ska, rogers voice sounded high and weird and the songs were boring and longwinded, save a couple great ones (look what happened, gainsville rock city, faction). this album has better flow and production, like rockview, and has more energy. its no losing streak or rockview, but thats ok, every band has their classics, this one is still solid. i'm the "fuckhead" down there who said less than jake sold out. yeah, i went and saw them at eddie c's once, but it's not the same as paying $5 to see them at the covered dish or hardback. have you been here long enough to remember those? and btw bro, check your watch, i think it runs way too fast. ok, i finally got this cd, and i like it. it's probably the most diverse less than jake album yet. i was scared after hearing some things from people, but i really do like it. roger seems to do a lot more vocals on this one than before and i like that. also, they seem to have more of a distinction between their punk and ska songs now, which i like too. you can really see how ltj has grown as a band. instead of all the songs sounding the same over time they're becoming a lot more diverse, and this is something i like very much For the dude way down there talkin shit about how LTJ charges too much for hometown shows...have you been chillin in a cave for the past year? obviously you have or else you would have gone to one of the five shows that LTJ played at Eddie C's for $5!! They did a string of shows there while writing Anthem to test out some of the new songs. Are you sure you live in Gainesville? Awwwwwwww horsefuck crap shit About the guy making fun of the guy that said pop-punk doesn't exist: "I expected to be dissapointed by this album. The lyrics on this album are very strong(reminds me of the first time I bought hello rockview). As a longtime LTJ fan I was very impressed, hands down one of the best cd's this year... " "many bands that have been around as long as ltj has tend to play the same style and lose their touch and uniqueness*coughNOFXcough*" Surrender is the last song. The last two LTJ songs (The Brightest Bulb Has Burned Out and Screws Fall Out) are one track (13, I believe) and Surrender is the last one (#14) not a bad effort. some songs are still mediocre, but that escape from the abomb housre is just fucking awesome. i also liked the original of look what happened better, and the cover of surreneder is good. (ann baretta;s was rawer but good) but maybe it's just me, i was listening to this late at night, and i noticed that i dont have the last song. any reason? like i saw the lyrics but the last song on my cd is surrender. anybody know why? Hey Moron, who the fuck ever said Less Than Jake were a Ska band? People like you labeled them a Ska band. They never considererd themselves a ska band. They have always said they're a rock band with a horn section...and there are horns on at least 9 of the tracks on Anthem. Get a fuckin' clue! They now sound like 5000 other bands this band completely changed its style, last time i checked there is suppose to be horns in a ska band right?? hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm interesting........................they suck and there wanna be mainstreamers! they want to be dare i say good charlotte? yes i am right dont deny. No, the DVD has far more in depth interviews than the Anthem website. It was really done well. I would definitely pick it up if you can muster up the cash. does anyone have the dvd? what does it have on it? is it just everything that i could get off of the anthem site? I expected to be dissapointed by this album. The lyrics on this album are very strong(reminds me of the first time I bought hello rockview). As a longtime LTJ fan I was very impressed, hands down one of the best cd's this year... okay, this may be a bold and premature statement, but the more i listen to this album, the more I feel that this is their best album to date, or at the least, it's 2nd to Hello Rockview anyone who's bashing them needs to see them live. then you'll forgive them for any crappy albums they make along the way...for the record, b b is less than great, but it's better than most of the crap on the radio...good review. i haven't picked this record up yet, but it's next on my list. nice to see and old skool less than jake kid who's not pissed about them progressing as artists. which is what decent musicians are supposed to do. unless you're punk, in which case, stay pigeon-holed! anarchy! oi oi oi! all you people who are bitching about the new cd and not hearing horns must be fucking deaf. i hear horns on about ever song except for 4 of the songs, i counted and there are 15 songs. so if i do my math correct that means there are 11 songs with horns. Dear Less Than Jake, short fuse burning is the fucking greatest song ever done by less than jake well except for maybe..... Anyone else think the guitars on this record are mixed a little too high? |
