Pezcore Forever

As much as I love original pressings, sometimes getting a repress is just much more convenient and of course affordable. Pezcore is the debut LP by Less Than Jake and was first released in 1995. To commemorate the 30-year anniversary, Pezcore was rereleased at the beginning of this year. It comes on nice 180g vinyl. The rerelease comes on a bunch of different colors, but the mock ups were all incredibly ugly splatter vinyl and there‘s no way those could have looked good in real life, so black vinyl was definitely the better choice (sorry, Marcus). 

While this is not my favorite LTJ LP, there are some real tracks on this album. I mean, each of the first five LPs has a bunch of absolute hits in my book. All of them are just a good time. 

Close-up of the hype sticker. I‘m not quite sure what makes this the ‘forever version‘, but that‘s ok. 

 

Gainesville Rock City

Unlike Marcus, whose recent dive into Less Than Jake was inspired by an actual trip to Gainesville, Florida, I merely wanted to close another gap in my collection when I picked up a copy of Borders & Boundaries. The first five Less Than Jake records are all really good and each one has a bunch of hits on it. And Borders and Boundaries is no exception. Just a fun records to listen to and lift my spirits during winter time. After Anthem, which was released in 2003, I sort of lost touch with the band. I liked the Sound The Alarm 12” I picked up some time ago, but I’m not really familiar with any of their other material post 2003. So I might join Marcus in his quest to dive deeper into the Less Than Jake discography. 

2023 Repress on Black on Fat Wreck

All My Best Friends Are Skaheads

I feel like hardcore kids often have a hard time embracing fun, at least when it comes to their taste in music. Everything has to be serious all the time, which can be very exhausting. First wave ska is deemed kind of cool and The Specials from the 2 Tone era usually get a pass as well, but bands from the third wave ska revival in the 90s are often frowned upon. Then there‘s me. I like serious bands with a message, but I also like goofy and whacky stuff. Less Than Jake to me is the best skapunk band originating in the 90s and I can thoroughly enjoy their first five albums, but Hello Rockview is their masterpiece. So many hits and this album always puts a smile on my face whenever I listen to it. I really like the peach coloured vinyl and the comic book style booklet with lyrics and credits.