We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls
7 July 09
Review by Liz Kelly

This is perfect.

That is a bold statement, but everything about These Four Walls by We Were Promised Jetpacks is perfect.

These four Scots have done something few bands have been able to do in the recent past: make GOOD, SOLID music. No frills, no showing off, no hiding behind an image. They play their instruments well, Adam Thompson sings well, and the songs are structured beautifully but still have depth and flat out 'rock'.

When I first heard the single "Ships With Holes Will Sink" my mind went straight to comparing them to Against Me! Now that I've heard the whole album, that comparison couldnt be further from the truth.

Tracks are layered like wedding cakes but don't get soggy. A trippy sonic breakdown is found in "A Half Built House" with a female voice reciting recorded numbers. "This Is My House, This Is My Home" is rock music. It is guitars and a deep-voiced singer, but it doesn't sink like a brick. It manages to stay afloat and winds along like a hand out an open car window down the highway. Think "Creep" by Radiohead, until the band bursts into a pounding crescendo that leaves this listener wanting more. Luckily, WWPJ are happy to oblige and manage to fill the entire disc with instantly listenable, energetic, mature songs, well, well, well beyond their years. Adam Thompson sounds like he's living his fifth life when he sings "I'm young again, I'm young again" on "Quiet Little Voices." Drummer Darren Lackie keeps time like a beating heart in short bursts to underline the heightened nature of the lyrics.

Call it post punk, call it indie rock, call it Britpop if you want. Just make sure you've got this band in your life.