“The Living, Breathing, Hot-blooded Embodiment Of Independence” Live Review: Jetplane Landing - Cathouse Nightclub on 24/10/03

From Drowned In Sound, by Stu Chown on 24 October 2003

So, the Drowned In Sound-sponsored rock and roll extravaganza that is Irish quartet Jetplane Landing's seemingly endless UK tour rolls into Glasgow, and it's everything it promised to be.

Before the main attraction though, a question: What the fuck are Sucioperro doing here? They shouldn't be playing to the 70-odd people present. They should be filling up larger venues up and down the country with their melodic, spiralling alt-rock, and breaking hearts with their beautiful tales of love and anguish. For a three piece, they make one hell of a racket, as cemented in songs like 'Wolf Carnival' and 'Love In The Guise (Part Two)'. Angular riffery and beautiful melodies are the order of the day, and Sucio do it as well as anyone, if not better; the heartbreaking 'Betterman' and the fantastic 'Found U Makin' both testaments to that fact. Hear this band, and do it now.

Last time Jetplane Landing visited this particular venue, they played to a crowd of "only about 30 people, and it's great to see those 30 faces here again, and the rest of those who haven't seen us". From the opening Fugazi spasms that run through 'Acrimony', to the polemic, relentless barrage of guitars in 'I Opt Out', JPL are a guitar band you can really lose yourself in, a feat rarely achieved by bands. Possible single of the year 'Calculate The Risk' and the frantic, "let's fuck shit up" song, 'Lights Out' are exactly what the buzz is all about: JPL are vibrant, alive, energetic, intelligent, loud and elegant, all rolled into one. They play newie 'The Violence'. We are knocked down. Totally floored. We have trouble breathing, until Andrew Ferris' urgent, cut 'n' paste vocals pick us back up. It's intense. An aural feast.

Ferris is a fantastic frontman. He lets the crowd into a little secret: independence is still alive and well. Affectionately stating that "this band love you more than you love us", this clearly isn't your typical, schmaltzy attempt at winning the us over. He urges us to buy their records (independently released, by the way), to see the shows, and to hold the person you love and tell them how you feel. DiS has never seen, nor heard, someone speak with such conviction and emotion; a tear looks like it could fall from Ferris' eye at any moment, and the warm, communal spirit of tonight's show affects us all, and we are truly moved by his endearing words.

JPL aren't just another rock band. They're the living, breathing, hot-blooded embodiment of independence, and everything that should stand for. Long live Jetplane Landing.

4½/5