Less Than Jake - In with the Out Crowd

Punk-pop stalwarts Less Than Jake return with the adored band's first original album in three years, In With the Out Crowd, produced by Howard Benson. The punk 'n' horns group has sold more than 1 million records over the past decade, thanks to incessant touring, including on the Warped Tour, where it has been the #1 merchandise seller. Less Than Jake gets out the crowds once more with In With the Out Crowd. Album Description

 These guys are too old to try to make it mainstream
So I totally understand why the fans of the old Less Than Jake don't take kindly to this CD. It's true that with 2006's "In With the Outcrowd" this band has abandoned a lot of what made them really fun to listen to, in other words fast paced ska guitar and horns-a-plenty. For a band in which almost half the members are exclusively horn players, it's kind of strange that they would put out a CD where only half the songs have any horns at all, because you gotta think, hey, what do Buddy and JR do when the band plays a song with no horns, just stand there?

So I'm sure the no horn thing has been beaten to death by the 65 reviews already written at this point, so I won't wallow in it. The new sound is not so bad after all, they're still really catchy and they have MOST of the energy that can be seen on former records and at their live shows. The ballad-ish soft songs are good for a listen one or two times and then become forgetable, but everything else could be put on a shuffle list with all the other Less Than Jake songs and I don't think a fan would be bothered too much when they came up. The bottom line is, it's the kind of upbeat pop-punk that we see on the mainstream today, only better 'cause it's more anthem style than pop.

That does not say the CD isn't lacking compared to other albums by this band, 'cause it is. Most of the other CDs, had I reviewed them, would be 4 or maybe even 5 star albums, and this is a 3. That's because for one thing, horns = gone. Secondly, the guitar is pretty bland throughout the CD, usually a three or four chords progression with typical pop-rock distortion. The bass is majorly underutilized, like most pop-rock bands except this is Less Than Jake and they've written songs like "Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellout" and "Last One Out of Liberty City," where Roger got his moments to shine. Why can't he shine on this album as well? And no, the no-guitar verse in "Overrated" does not count as a bass driven song.

So basically, it's listenable, but not ideal. You'll listen to this CD if you buy it but probably only once for every 3 times you listen to "Hello Rockview" and every 5 times you listen to "Losing Streak," so at times it may collect a little dust in your CD collection, but alas, one of those days you'll be like "Oh yeah, this CD" and play it once more. New fans, start with the two aforementioned CDs or "Anthem," which is also a really good CD by this band, and then, and only then, buy this one. That's not to say we shouldn't buy it eventually, maybe try to find a used copy for a discount though. April 25, 2008

 Change can be good, if it's genuine
After "B is for B Sides" and "Anthem," which I thought were Less Than Jake's best albums yet, my expectations for "In with the Out Crowd" were admittedly high. And I was disappointed.

I've nothing against a band's style evolving; rather, I prefer exploration. When bands play what they want to instead of what they feel like they have to, it shows. Unfortunately, with this album, I don't think that's what happened.

A lot of the ska is gone, with horns playing a back role (or completely absent) and only coming to the fore in a couple songs. Overall, the sound is darker and more melancholic. Unfortunately, it's also lost the humor and sheer frenetic energy that I've come to love in Less Than Jake. The emotionlessness of this album is a larger tribute to crushing apathy than all the lyrics of all the songs before it. Most of the songs are just paint-by-number knock-offs with less-than-enthused vocals and derivative melodies.

To be fair, the album still has some decent songs on it, which saves it from 2-stardom. I must admit to liking "Rest of My Life," perhaps the most melancholy song on the whole album--because it stirs emotions! "Don't Fall Asleep on the Subway" is okay, sort of. And "P.S. Shock the World," while not their best song, is still lively and has some spirit to it.

The problem isn't that their sound changed; it's that they just don't seem to be trying, or are trying too hard. Whatever Less Than Jake sounds like on their next album, I hope there's some spirit and enthusiasm in the music.

"In with the Out Crowd" isn't terrible; it just isn't much of anything at all. November 28, 2007

 Long-time listener
Alright, so LTJ hooked me and became my favorite band somewhere between Losing Streak and Hello Rockview, and the times I've seen them live have been amazing.

This new album has a definite new sound. I'm not saying that new sound is necessarily a bad thing. When Anthem first came along, I didn't give it much of a chance, but now I absolutely love it. Plastic Cup Politics is one of my favorite on the album, if not one of my favorite LTJ songs period.

The problem is, I don't think something like this is going to happen with In with the out crowd. I don't hate it, but it didn't live up to what I was hoping for. My excitement for a new LTJ album is always ridiculous, and this time it just didn't deliver the way LTJ has over the years. I'm not saying not to pick this one up, I'm just saying not to expect another Hello Rockview.

Right now I'm just replaying Borders and Boundaries and the other good ones in hopes that LTJ will come out with another album sometime soon. I have a feeling that when they do, they'll go back, at least a little bit, to their old sound. I'm basing this guess on how they refer to their new album at their live shows, always threatening to play something from IWTOC. They know the longtime fans aren't really into it as much, so maybe they'll do something about it. September 27, 2007

 Mediocre.
The only thing more tiring than seeing people get down on a band's new album for changing their sound, is when people defend a legitimately mediocre album by putting down such people. Just like it is not fair to say a band is no longer good for changing their sound, it is not fair to simply say that a change in a band's sound is a "maturing" of their sound. In With The Out Crowd sounds much different than anything LTJ has put out, unfortuantely, however, it is not the case that this new sound is a matured one.

I am one of those people who does not want every release a band puts out to sound exactly the same, and although sometimes it can be hard to get used to, I usually like when a band changes their sound, as long as they've matured that sound.

I've tried to give this album a bunch of chances to impress me, but a year and a half removed from its release it just doesn't. With the exception of a few tracks, there just doesn't seem to be anything special about this album. The songs come and go, leaving no lasting impression. Don't get me wrong, the abscence of horns on a lot of tracks is something I could definitely get past if there were other redeeming qualities present--however there aren't. I read an interview where Vinnie (the drummer, and main lyric writer for LTJ) stated that they would rather add really good horn parts to a few of their songs, as opposed to adding mediocre horn parts to all of their songs. This makes no sense to me--why can't all of their songs that have horns in them, regardless of the number of songs that may be, have really great horn parts? Not to mention, all the songs on IWTOC with horns do not necessarily have "great" horn parts.

I'm not asking for a bunch of sequels to Johnny Quest, but the majority of the songs on this album are just plain bland. Unlike many LTJ fans, I loved Anthem, which was a different sound than what we were used to in a LTJ album. Although that cd wasn't chock-full of ska numbers, it had a lot of energy and heart. IWTOC just falls flat in delivering that energy. That being said, the album isn't awful--it's just extremely mediocre, especially considering it's coming from LTJ.

The stand-out tracks on this album are A Still Life Franchise and P.S. Shock the World. Hopefully I'm not being too optimistic in thinking that LTJ will redeem themselves with future releases. They still rock a crazy live show that anyone would be lucky to see, and I don't think they've lost their edge, just stumbled a bit on this release. I definitely feel like this album falls short of any of their previous work--and I'm not just saying that because it doesn't have enough horn parts or because it sounds different.

(Note: If I could have given a 2 1/2 star rating, I would have.) September 7, 2007

 Is this LTJ?
This is such a generic sounding alblum. It's terrible stay away at all costs. Their new direction is so bland and boring its sickening. February 5, 2007

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