Review Summary: 11 minutes of uninspired cover songs.
Ever since I was a wee tyke, I’ve been listening to ska. Even after its peak, I was still a fan boy. I’ve been to a few ska concerts in my time, and I can skank like it’s nobody’s business. So when I heard that one of my favorite bands
Less Than Jake (who released the phenomenal
Hello Rockview) was coming out with a new EP after a few years break, I was stoked. The day finally arrived, and I popped in the
TV EP into my stereo and listened. 11 minutes later, I was left feeling unfulfilled and unsatisfied. The reason why, is because this EP consists of 16 covers TV theme songs and jingles crammed into 11 minutes. A few of you might think to yourself ‘Oh, that can’t be too bad.’ Well to be honest, no. It’s really not that bad. But comparing it to their other releases, they’re capable of so much more, plus the way they cover the songs are incredibly bland, it will just
barely keep your attention throughout to see if you can recognize any of the songs.
First up is a decent minute and a quarter long cover of
the theme song to iCarly (that show with the girl who played Meghan in Drake in Josh) which leads to a nice start, but beware! Blandness ahoy! The next 3 minutes contain ska-oriented covers of
the Hungry Hungry Hippos jingle,
the Animaniacs theme song, and
the theme song to Diff’rent Strokes. As well as the more punk-oriented cover of
the McDonald’s Big Mac jingle and a slower reggae-y take of
the Malcolm in the Middle song. Everything about those past 3 minutes screams uninspired, and by one listen, you can tell Less Than Jake has lost their passion. A cover of
the General Mill’s Pac-Man Breakfast Cereal jingle and
the Scooby-Doo theme song barely take up a minute and a half as we are already halfway through this EP.
The last half is basically everything we’ve just sat through. Covers include
the Kit Kat jingle,
the SpongeBob Squarepants theme song,
the That 70’s Show theme song and
the Oscar Mayer Wieners jingle. The last 4 songs are definitely well done in contrast to the rest of the album, and if you were thinking about checking this out, just listen to the last 4 songs. They contain a bouncy punk-y cover of
Love and Marriage (Married… With Children), a bubbly ska version of
the Toy’s R Us jingle, and punk rock-inspired covers of
the Laverne & Shirley theme song and
the FreeCreditScore.com pirate restaurant jingle. Fun stuff.
Instruments throughout the album are lazily done, though it sounds like their having fun. Vocals are bland and sound like he just got out of bed. If you enjoy ska, you might like this album. If you enjoy covers, you might like this album. If you enjoy Less Than Jake, listen to this
once. The
TV EP is (probably) meant to be nothing more than a one-time novelty spin solely made to make a couple more bucks to support the aging members of the once-great ska-punk band we all loved. While I have listed various negative points of the album, I will say however, despite all its faults, it’s still a pretty fun listen, and it’s quite nostalgic if you grew up in front of the television, and as stated before, it really isn’t that bad. If you’re in the mood for some real ska, however, pick up
Hello Rockview. You won’t regret that. This, however, you might.
