REVIEW : JET SETTER – Never Had it So Good EP

8/10

REVIEW : JET SETTER - Never Had it So Good EP

Jet Setter has built significant anticipation for the release of their debut EP and this week “Never Had it So Good” arrives in the usual physical purchasing outlets and favorite downloading sites. The band hails from Dublin, Ireland and has been compared to The Stokes, Blur, Smashing Pumpkins and Dinosaur Jr. They produce a jangly nonchalant indie rock sound.

“Never Had it So Good” was recorded in two days at Meadow Studios with Rian Trench. The songs were pieced together over the preceding months by cribbing ideas from records, films and books. The EP is twenty minutes of glorious classic altie rock guitar music.

Jet Setter was formed at an after hours gathering in a Dublin record store over drinks and strangely enough listening to Joe Tex. The four member combo is made up of Ross Harner providing vocals, Paddy Ormond on guitar, Neil Dexter manning the drum throne, and Jeffery Courtney on the bass. They have an extensive amount of talent to place on display. The six EP tracks provide music that satisfies an itch for good quality straight forward instrumentation. The band cites many influences such as the Replacements, Dinosaur jr. and The Stooges.

“Never Had it So Good” kicks off with the ever so palatable “Archipelago” close your eyes and you can hear U2’s “City of Blinding Lights” lurking in the background of the song. The guitar work is stellar with an undoubted Edge like guitar. The song is filled with energy and very radio friendly. The track has a nice build to the chorus and a great payoff sonically. A great kick off to the EP.

“Never Have Kids” Is a more dreamy song with a heavy bass intro and a great beat with outstanding percussion. There is this amalgam of 60’s cool with dare I say Sonic Youth flashes, all framed with engaging chiming guitar.

“Forget About It” Is an enjoyable grunge guitar song, with an excellent fuzz guitar driving the tune. The song showcases all the band’s musical strengths. It is well formed and makes it almost impossible to believe the band spent only two days in the studio.

“Truth Of Life” again displays a catchy guitar riff. The song turns the title on its head referencing commonly held wisdom and point out that most of it is useless. The dead pan vocal enhances the two and half minutes of brilliance. “Swerve Tours” is melodic tune with a trippy vocal and a swirling guitar and heavy intro.

The final track is “Nothing Left to Say to You” is the longest song on the EP and still clocks in less than five minutes. This song is a real treat with so much going on it demands a few listens to catch everything. It also boasts a really vibrant guitar. You can almost imagine how spectacular this song will be live. You can hear the fun the band was having recording the track. The momentum for the song gets faster and builds as the song progresses. The band leaves you in no doubt about their musical abilities. It is a great track to end the EP with as it does what an EP should do, leaving the listener wanting more.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/198089859″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

“Never Had it so Good” is a great launching pad for a wider commercial attack. Jet Setter blends vaguely familiar musical snippets to their fresh stylings making for some noteworthy music. Given more time in the studio and a full length format it will be interesting to see what they will go on to create. Jet Setter is the perfect antidote for music listeners who simply want to hear songs with really great classical song structure and awesome guitar.

Xsnoize Author
Lori Gava 344 Articles
Lori has been with XS Noize from the beginning and contributes album reviews regularly. Fav bands/artists: Radiohead, U2, The Cure, Arcade Fire, The Twilight Sad, Beck, Foals, Sufjan Stevens Fav Albums: In Rainbows, Achtung Baby, Disintegration, Funeral, Sea Change, Holy Fire, Nobody Wants to be Here and Nobody Wants to Leave.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*