Jake & The Jellyfish – ‘Long In Winters’.

Jake & The Jellyfish – Leeds, England, United Kingdom.

A band from Leeds with a great name have recently released an album on a label also with a great name. Jake & The Jellyfish have been ploughing the proverbial field since 2011 in a steady steady stream of heart warming Folk infected Punk-Rock reminiscent of the likes of The Gaslight Anthem, Hot Water Music and Against Me! if they felt a slight penchant for the Ska and Reggae-d things in life.

If I were you I’d spend some serious time on the band’s past releases as their natural progression toward this more melodic and “plugged-in” approach couldn’t flow better on this album out now via Invisible Llama Music

Long In Winters playfully breaks you in with Folk Punk guitars before blending the band’s signature with Alternative Rock weight in ‘Spokesdog’, while ‘Reading List’ sounds akin to latter-day Hot Water Music with a  chorus bound to stick in your head for days in one of the best on Long In Winters.

Track three, ‘Graveyards’, takes the melodic tones of its predecessor and charges it through Punk-Rock cables in another album highlight via tempo that really quite suits this man and his ill-advised pet jellyfish. Now, I’m not one to judge but as the song says – ‘All this thinking can’t be good for your brain’. 

‘The Shakes’ takes this one step further with a track easily comparable to the masterpiece of an album Caution by the legends Hot Water Music and perhaps recent material by Perth band Hope Street who you should likely indulge in – Here. ‘The Shakes’ may we harder and sharper but its honest catharsis is nothing but thoughtful and well written.

‘Speak Now Or Forever Hold Your Peas’ sees the heaviness of the guitars reach its momentary peak as the band’s classic Post-Hardcore tinged jagged Punk-Rock vents their socio-political frustration.

The band forget not their pace in ‘Comics’ but instead fall back on their roots with classic and really very well executed gritty and playful Folk Punk. The band’s thoughtful lyrics again are nothing but relatable and their blatant discussion of mental health throughout the album is commendable. This mid-point sees the albums format thus far shift as the band have shown you what they can do in one facet of their creativity and now need to show you the other.

‘No One Remembers Song Titles Anyway’ takes the mantle for the records best with band’s intelligent honesty and musical proficiency as subtle as it is obvious. Oh, and your television might be (almost certainly is) lying to you.

Jake & The Jellyfish close with the all important title track. ‘Long In Winters’ takes solitary strings and vocal chords via stripped-down English Folk in another insanely quotable and emotive track. Jake & The Jellyfish have really delivered with this new record and I’m sure I could bore you to tears with minute details on why and how they lead to other things I enjoy about it but I won’t instead I will leave you with the closing number and a statement.

Long In Winters hits the mark perfectly and I challenge the band to do better in the sense that if they do, I will be amazed. Get it now via Invisible Llama Music.

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Matthew Speer

Matt has 2.1 BA in History and is most likely somewhere in his twenties. He enjoys a wide range of music, but has a strong penchant for Punk-Rock. Originally he hails from the Isle Of Wight off the South Coast of England, UK and spends most of his time around England's South-West.

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