Indie Minded reviews Jets Can’t Land’s ‘You Can’t Linger on’
You Can’t Linger On by Jets Can’t Land
In a business flooded with naïve kids dreaming of escaping their hometown and making it big, Rhode Island-based indie rock band, Jets Can’t Land, are not your typical up and comers. An experienced group of guys with an appreciation for quality music, members Michael Bilodeau, Kyle Jackson, Eric Meier and Keith Swist have all played with different bands throughout the local music scene over the course of their careers. Jets Can’t Land recently released their six track debut EP You Can’t Linger On.
You Can’t Linger On kicks off with “A 70’s Photograph.” Opening with a driving drum line which introduces the lead guitar, what stands out most on this song are the vocals. With a weathered rawness that allows a degree of purity to be brought to this, and other tracks, Meier’s voice compliments the sense of nostalgia that is achieved through lyrics such as “Standing on the edge of the grass/I’m thirteen again and lost in the past.” Both do a good job of bringing listeners back in time making this track highly relatable for most people. Taking the mood down a notch or two is “Digging Out.” This mid-tempo bit opens with a repetitive guitar riff that is followed by somewhat depressing lyrics such as “I’ve been digging out/From all the problems that remain/You’d go home again but you can’t.” Ultimately, this is one of those songs you could sing along to in a bar while drinking with friends.
Two of my favorite tracks, “Wasted” and “Another Day Gone By” are at the half way point of You Can’t Linger On. “Wasted” opens with instrumentation that works together to create an old school sonic feel. The track is an apology love song done in the way that only a 90s grunge influenced indie rock band could do it as they sing “I know you’re wasted you’re damaged I wanted you/To hear I’m sorry, for all the things I put you through/I’d been entrusted, I fucked up and now I know…I watched the sun go down right in your eyes.” Continuing with the theme of relationships, “Another Day Gone By” opens with guitar playing that seamlessly moves through chord progressions creating a sense of time passing, appropriate given the song’s name. It’s a strong track and quite possibly my favorite on this release. “Another Day Gone By” sets the tone for the feelings that are inevitably left behind as you continuously go over everything in an attempt to get past emotional wounds. It is a sad song, or as the guys would refer to it, a song about “getting over sad shit that happened.”
“The Falling Sky” is an apocalyptic sounding song that begins to wrap up You Can’t Linger On. Jets Can’t Land have described themselves as a guitar band but the playing starts to sound a little too familiar by this point on the release. However, by mid-song the guitar playing picks up and changes up in a way that makes me want to hear more. Hopefully, on future releases Jets Can’t Land will showcase the range of ability they have on guitar because his solo is the star here. You Can’t Linger On wraps with “I Can’t Do That Dave.” With a long musical intro reminiscent to the days of bands such as Pearl Jam, the guitar solo on this track will make you feel like you’re lifting into the sky. While the lyrics are strong with lines such as “You got away with all your lying (oh my mind is gone)/I got a feeling like I’m dying (dying for too long)…,” the guitar is the real storyteller on this one closing with slight distorted feedback creating the impression that Jets Can’t Land have faded off into the sunset, or maybe simply lingered on.
Jets Can’t Land is not a groundbreaking band that is going to turn the music world upside down. After all, very few do. But with an approach that blends a certain degree of nonchalance with the expectations that experience in the industry has taught them, Jets Can’t Land does offer an authenticity that shines through on their debut. They are a solid band, but You Can’t Linger On hovers somewhere in that great space between anything goes basement jamming and shameless commercialization without ever getting close to either. However, with some truly noteworthy guitar solos, impressive lyrics and a sound that brings you back to the era when flannel was a fashion statement and music mattered, Jets Can’t Land’s debut EP You Can’t Linger On is worth a listen.