“The sort of joyful and energetic music that really exists outside of all audience, industry and scene expectation” Album Review: Jetplane Landing - Backlash Cop

Jetplane Landing are one of the most hardworking and persevering DIY bands in Britain; and their third record Backlash Cop, released almost two weeks ago now, is their most exciting yet. As you may have read from the press reports, it differs pretty greatly from their past work, moving slightly away from their old influences (At The Drive-In, Helmet, Pavement) and embracing the start stop political beat of Minutemen, old school soul and a healthy dose of funk.

The reason for these inclusions can be linked to the concept of the record, which seems to be a sort of tribute to their influences, and in particular influences from black America. Thus we get songs dedicated to Les Savy Fav, the aforementioned Minutemen, Dizzy Gillespie, Sam Cooke, Miles Davis, Hendrix, and indeed the rest of the record is smothered with a palimpsest of cultural references which make for a really dizzying listen.

A lot of fans have felt that it doesn't work as well as their past records, but I really think it's pretty fantastic; it's the sort of joyful and energetic music that really exists outside of all audience, industry and scene expectation, and should totally be encouraged.

JPL are of course the band behind London's wonderful Smalltown America records, one of the most valuable labels in the country, and if you like the songs below i'd totally recommend that you head over to the bands site and buy the new record.

© The Runout Groove 2007