If it’s a comeback you want, Jetplane Landing with support from Carnivores delivered a set that their ten years younger selves would have been proud of.
Jetplane Landing’s return to live gigs is still in single digits when they kick off their set. Before we get to that, support act Carnivores deserve a mention.
I’m going to sidestep the OTT metal songs that arguably weren’t clever enough without sounding contrived (compared to say, Dundee’s Kaddish) or catchy enough (whatever commercial metal is doing these days) and end up falling between two stools as the cliche goes.
Instead I’m going to write about the song that got the loudest cheer from the audience, the track that sounded most like the band themselves as opposed to emulating heroes. The song in question is called ‘The Second Wave Of Yuppie Scum’ and thankfully it’s available to hear from their bandcamp page. I’ll embed it here and link to the album at the end of this post.
Hearing it live, you realise that not only do Carnivores have talent but they can write a great song as well.
It makes me wonder how many songs do Scottish bands write before they decide there’s enough strong material to release an album. Any band is only ever 10 songs away from greatness. You almost want to lock Carnivores away in a Cabin in the Woods and tell them they can’t come out until they’ve got 40 songs. I reckon they’d have their 8-10 winners and we’d have a new Scottish rock champion. They have it in them.
JETPLANE LANDING ARE BACK
When doors opened and things were still relatively quiet, I managed to have a wee chat with JPL bassist Jamie Burchell. We joked about the insane tour they did around ten years ago where they played almost every city and town in the UK. They’re older and wiser now and short burst tours make more sense if you’re married with a family. It was, dare-I-use-the-word, nice catching up.
Armed with in-ear monitors and instruments poised to attack, when Jetplane Landing started to play it was clear they were up for it. Within four songs they’d found their top gear, with only the second in the set I Opt Out sounding like it could have used a later slot. This isn’t however the same band from ten years ago and I’m not just referring to the line-up.
Songs from debut album ‘Zero For Conduct’ sounded better as a three-piece when things were less RAWK and more subtle. Those tunes still sound decent but they’re no longer life-affirming. It’s a faded photograph from a previous life that no longer applies.
JPL in 2013 are very much about The Riff. This would explain why the best sounding songs live come from their most straight-ahead rock records, ‘Once Like A Spark’ and ‘Don’t Try’. In particular, Calculate The Risk sounds so intense and brilliant that it gets lodged in my mind on a loop for the next few days!
In case you’re wondering about the new songs from Don’t Try, well – Don’t Worry. They sound unstoppable. Beat Generation…Ha! steamrollers over most other rock bands you’ll hear live this year while My Radio Heart is played with a gleeful joy and unbridled sense of fun that can’t be hidden as Andrew Ferris bounces up and down playing the best thing they’ve ever written.
And let’s not forget the banter. When he’s not telling the audience to “keep her lit“, he’s replying to shouted song requests with gems such as, “too many hits, not enough time”. That one got a huge laugh.
Lasting over an hour, with an encore to satisfy the demands of a crowd chanting, ‘one more tune!’ this was a memorable night at Stereo. Don’t leave it so long until next time.
JETPLANE LANDING’s Album Don’t Try Is Out Now
CARNIVORES Album Is Available From Bandcamp
