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.
Jacob Haller at AS220
Songwriters in the Round Anniversary
AS220
Empire Street
Providence, RI
8:30pm
David Tessier All Star Band of All Stars at Aurora
Aurora
Westminster St
Providence, RI
9pm
Mike Mountain Interview in the New Bedford Guide
Mike Mountain is a well known band from New Bedford. They straddle a fine line between the noise-rock underground and catchy, hook filled tunes. I had a few choice words with lead singer Michael Montagano about cultural diffusion, spontaneous combustion, rock and roll and Portuguese cuisine.
How did Mike Mountain get started?
Michael: I had known (bassist) Jeff for a while. I was impressed he was able to quit his job to make a living playing music. I toured down to Miami in an early version of the band with Jeff and got to know him better. Eventually it coalesced into something more permanent. The guitarist Steve and I had played on and off for years, and Jeff used to play with our drummer (also named Mike).
Mike Mountain Band New BedfordHow do you guys come up with your songs? Is here a magic formula? What’s it all about?
Michael: There is no set pattern. Jeff comes up with bass lines first for most of the songs, but some have started with Steve on guitar or my lyrics. A lot of bands jam and make songs from those sessions. We don’t really do that. Lyrically I tend to gravitate to open ended meanings that people can attach their own significance to. It is a kind of stream of consciousness. I don’t over think it.
I know you are recording a new album. How is that going?
Michael: Great! We are recording at Feedback Studios in Freetown with the New Wave Cafe’s main sound engineer Ron Poitras. Ron has been great, very professional but laid back. Its inexpensive but very big sounding. We are almost done, just some some guitar and vocal overdubs left.
What impelled you to play music in the first place?
Michael: Most of my formative years were spent going to shows in the early to mid 1990’s. Lyrical influences, well I try to take what influences me from different genres. I like Bob Dylan and The Kinks from the 1960’s, Bruce Springsteen and the Swell Maps from the 1970’s, Drunks with Guns and the Birthday Party from the 1980’s, Pavement,Royal Trux and the Jesus Lizard from the 1990’s. A lot of things appeal to me, it is difficult to quantify.
It is obvious from that response that it may be difficult for Mike Mountain to fit in with a certain scene or clique in New Bedford. How do you manage?
Michael: Because we are all in our mid 3o’s there is a certain desperation to do our best work now, not like we are young kids and will have a lot of future bands. We can’t afford to worry about the little stuff. We cover a song by A Stoveboat. All of their songs were about Whaling, its kind of a sea shanty. I feel like a lot of poets come from New England and we fit in that with a sort of New England perception. We have an original sound but we like to think we can appeal to the average person. it is hard for us to be grouped into one scene but hat may be beneficial to us eventually. Our first two CD’s have a wide range. We don’t want the songs to sound alike.
What do you make of the New Bedford area since you started at nearby U- Mass Dartmouth about 20 years ago?
Michael: Downtown was a ghostland. It is nice to see a cultural renaissance, made all the more remarkable during a recession. There are places to play and hear music,eat and get out in general.
What’s coming up for Mike Mountain?
Michael: Jeff and I have the freedom socially to just go out and play and not worry about money, so we will do more touring, but we have to work around the other guys lives. We will have our second album out on 75 Or Less Records soon. We want to tour as much as we can, but you will still see us playing around town.
Mike Mountain will be playing No Problemo and the New Wave soon, so keep a lookout for New Bedford’s best kept secret.
Mike Mountain at Out of The Blue Too
with Bombers, The Cringe, Piss Dogs, Socialite
Out of the Blue Too
541 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA
6pm
$8
All Ages
Dan Baker at Fort Foreclosure
with Michael Tarbox
Fort Foreclosure
164 Water Street
Warren, RI
7pm-9pm
Free
Eric Ott at Red Door
with Kristen Miller
Red Door
Portsmouth, NH
8pm
Matt Fraza Band at The Met
with The Mallett Bros and Jay Berndt & the Orphans
The Met
Main St
Pawtucket, RI
9pm
All ages
Dennis Most and the Instigators at 13th Floor Music Lounge
with Mothman Appartus, Dead Radio Rebels, and Sparkeater
13th Floor Music Lounge
99 Main St
Florence, Mass
9pm
The Callouts and Foul Weather Friend at News Cafe
News Cafe
Braod St
Pawtucket, RI
9pm