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Jet
Get Born
Elektra/Asylum
Yeah, track four was probably done by The Beatles 25 years ago, and track three sounds more than a little like the Stones. And so what? Somewhere in there, there’s a song that sounds like The Kinks with an itch and a dirtier, more heavily crunched amp. If “retro” bands like The Strokes have proved one thing, it’s that bringing back the past isn’t a reason to get your panties in a bunch.
Jet, a youngish, mop-headed quartet from Australia, are the latest to cash in on this alt-rock revival, and on their debut album, Get Born, they rip-off, unapologetically, everyone from Clapton, to Hendrix, to Jagger himself, and they do it well. The surprise here is not the range of (borrowed) genre – a feat already accomplished by The Vines, handily, on their first LP – but the power behind songs like “Take It Or Leave It,” “Move On” and “Are You Going to be My Girl,” the tune which drives the most recent Apple I-Pod television commercial. That there is nothing really unusual on Get Born is perhaps one of its most peculiar charms; search all you want, this is a guitar, bass and drum rock band, and in the age of electronically overproduced messes, guess what – it’s a relief. Not convinced? Here’s a quick checklist: Like The Strokes? Like The Vines? Like The Libertines? Like Black Rebel Motorcycle Gang? Like classic rock radio stations? Then you’ll like Jet. Just don’t expect anything new.
-Matt Shaer
Bangor Daily News