Scottish indie-rock band We Were Promised Jetpacks recently released their sophomore album “In The Pit Of The Stomach” to eagerly awaiting fans early this October. The release, which coincides with the kick off of their United States Tour on October 26 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at the Abbey Bar, offers fans the same, comforting Jetpacks sound as their pop-rock debut,“These Four Walls,” but with just a bit more grunge.
The album opens up with a melancholy warmup track, called “Boy In The Backseat.” With solemn lyrics and a bittersweet melody, the track serves as a successful intro: its steadily growing beat and great mood setter entice listeners to continue to listen to the rest of the album. The next track, “Circles And Squares,” is a bit more upbeat and showcases the best of the old and new Jetpacks, with newly distorted instruments meeting with the same-old upbeat, staccato percussion. The song gets almost happy towards the end, with the hopeful echoes of singer Adam Thompson. With songs like “Medicine”, “Boy In The Backseat”, and “Sore Thumb,” it is quite apparent that the Jetpacks have developed a darker, richer sound.
The best song on the album, “Pear Tree”, incorporates the best of the band, matching percussionist Darren Lackie’s diverse, fluid drumming and guitarist Michael Palmer’s new-found distortion with Thompson’s emotional crooning (reminiscent of the song “Conductor” from the previous album), creating an interesting juxtaposition between a dark instrumental and a soft and emotional feel and showcasing the new depth that is sure to wow fans.
However, while Jetpacks have improved as a group, it appears that after the first few songs, the band begins to lose originality, and the album begins to sound a little bit repetitive. Maybe had they waited a little longer to release the album and spent more time on every track on the album, the album might not seem as if it were just one song over and over.
Although it was released only a few weeks ago, “In The Pit Of The Stomach” is clearly a hit among the fans of the obscure band and is a great kick-off for their United States Tour. This newest release not only gives evidence of the talent in the band, but also offers to fans an album just as good, if not better, than its predecessor–something very rarely found in contemporary musicians. “In The Pit Of The Stomach” is not just a great album… it’s a clear example of talent in a pop-culture so riddled with the plague of “Rebecca Blacks” and the deceptions of Auto-tune.
