(Photo Credit - Euan Robertson)
Album Review - We Were Promised Jetpacks: Enjoy the View (September 10, 2021)
Scottish band We Were Promised Jetpacks are back with a new release, Enjoy the View. Enjoy the View sees the band moving forward in a unique sonic direction from their previous work. This change is partially driven by the amicable parting of ways with Michael Palmer, one of the founding members of the group. Since their 2018 release The More I Sleep the Less I Dream the now three piece group has had no choice but to embrace change, with the aforementioned parting of Palmer and the global pandemic that shut the world down as they were in the middle of creating a record. Because the band had to record and write remotely, this changed their process altogether. On this change, Adam Thompson (vocals, guitar) said via press release: “Writing together this way meant we had to stay in near daily contact to talk about the songs and what we were individually and collectively trying to achieve with them. Even though we were unable to be in the same room, this way of working allowed us to continue to create together and communicate perhaps more directly and efficiently than normal.”
With the scenery in place, lets dig into Enjoy the View itself. With this release the band veers from traditional indie rock to a sound that is indie based, but is more exploratory. This is especially true on tracks like "What I Know Now" and "I Wish You Well". The music seems larger in scale to previous releases. This is partially due to more reverb in the guitar work. But it also is intentionally placed in effects in Thompson's vocals as well.
Overall, there's a lot to love from Enjoy the View. The effects driven guitar, thumping bass, and perfectly coordinated drums are all big winners here. Additionally, Thompson's vocals are a welcomed topping on an already awesome slice of musical pie. We love the new vision that the band shares and the direction in which they're heading. If you give this one a listen, we're sure you will too.
Rating - 4.5/5