Less Than Jake's 2003 effort
Anthem was its hookiest to date. But its explosive production and energizing
pop-
punk/
ska dynamics were guided by sobering reality. The bent toward telling the kids just where the weekends end made
Anthem way more resonant than your average album in the genre, and marked the emergence of
LTJ as, well, a veteran act.
B Is for B-Sides backs that up. Any gaggle of greenhorn
punk revivalists or would-be third-wave enthusiasts would kill to write even one of these tracks, but in
Less Than Jake's world, they're just the unused portions of the
Anthem sessions, put out on a record for their faithful bunch o' fans. There's even a T-shirt for the first 10,000 customers, and seven awesome illustrations by artist
Jeremy Fish. Now, the music.
"Portrait of a Cigarette Smoker" tingles with ragged energy and chirping horns, harking to the heyday of
the Mighty Mighty Bosstones;
"Last Rites to Sleepless Nights" is a rapid-fire, poppy
hardcore prayer; and
"Goodbye in Gasoline" is the most rousing suicide song you'll ever hear. Some might say
Less Than Jake only has one or two gears, and some might be right. But so does
Wayne Newton, and he sells out Vegas every night! ~ Johnny Loftus
