LESS THAN JAKE ANNOUNCES NEW ALBUM, SILVER LININGS OUT DECEMBER 11 WATCH THE NEW MUSIC VIDEO, LIE TO ME

Silver Linings also does a good amount of myth-exploding in its pursuit of joy. The songwriting core of DeMakes, Lima and Wasilewski wrote all the lyrics. New drummer Matt Yonker, whose former positions included LTJ tour manager and hammering along with such punk outfits as the Teen Idols and the Queers, helps bring a new sense of urgency. And that album title? Yeah, that was decided upon long before bands began to offer face masks in their online merch stores. Pro tip: Dial back your preconceived notions. The only things the Jakes have to prove are to themselves. Their laurels aren’t so comfortable that they’d willingly choose to be painted into a retro- colored corner.

While Silver Linings doesn’t skimp on the joy, fun or grooves, careful listeners will sense a bit more reality seeping into LTJ’s escapism. The callisthenic bounce of Lie To Me is slightly undercut by Lima’s tales of how “the flames we hold the closest burn the worse.” On the urgent track The Test, DeMakes dares to seek some self-examination through someone else’s prism. Dear Me might be the first rock song that doesn’t couch its disdain for technology with poetic metaphors. That track addresses the loss of friends via distance and tragedy. The word “love” also appears in the album’s lyrics at three junctures. That detail should not be lost on anyone.

What else do you need to know about Less Than Jake in 2020? The band would tell you quite unpretentiously that they are here to bring a good time. Of course, LTJ would’ve said the exact same thing back in ’97, 2006, 2011 or 2018 when the Warped Tour’s punk ‘n’ roll roadshow was coming to an end. What makes things different now? Why, nothing less than a divided nation and a dangerous pandemic. Consider Less Than Jake the first responders when your psyche doesn’t think it wants to continue. Because we do need all the joy and levity a seasoned ska-punk band can dish out. The reality that LTJ are also feeling reminds us that some kind of triumph is within our reach.

In 2020, there’s no “scene,” merely good times and worse ones. For Less Than Jake to call their new album anything else but Silver Linings? Well, that would be fronting.