We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls

I am loving so many bands from Scotland at the moment. I'm not really sure why, but I know that the quality of music coming out of that country is of a high calibre right now and I'm not going to complain about it for one second. There are several bands I'm quite into right now, but I wanted to focus on We Were Promised Jetpacks for today. We Were Promised Jetpacks mix angular, post-punkish guitars and poignant, well written lyrics to create a sound that's distinctively familiar, yet somehow refreshing at the same time. I only found out about these guys maybe a week and a half ago, but I have not stopped listening to their debut album, These Four Walls, since I got it.

Opening track It's Thunder and It's Lightning is an exceptional song, combining soft vocals with an urgent sounding guitar line. The urgency of the track continues until it culminates in an explosion of sound, setting the tone for the rest of the album. Conductor shows another side of We Were Promised Jetpacks, showcasing Adam Thompson's unique voice and powerful lyrics, while the rest of the band builds the song into another powerful crescendo of sound, before bringing us gently back down.

Just over halfway into the album we reach the catchy-as-hell single Quiet Little Voices, which is anything but quiet. Thompson's voice shines on this track, while the chorus is as noisy as it is melodic and is driving without being forceful. It is easy to see why this was chosen as a single, but it doesn't take away from the rest of the album. Immediately after is the track Moving Clocks Run Slow (this blog's namesake by the way!), which develops in a very Foals-meets-Bloc Party way. This again shows another side to We Were Promised Jetpacks, as it is more immediate than some of the other tracks, without sounding forced or cliched.

Towards the end of the album is the epic Keeping Warm, which builds and builds into a very powerful and explosive ending. Keeping Warm has a nice post-rock feel to it, and it helps to build the song into the towering beast it becomes. Finally we reach An Almighty Thud, which brings us gently back down to earth after the journey we've just taken. Normally I'm not a huge fan of bands ending with acoustic tracks, as I feel it takes away from the overall vibe of the album, but An Almighty Thud is a song with such intensity that it helps to bring a finality to the album.

We Were Promised Jetpacks are amazing. I know that they are a young band and they have a lot of growth left in them, but if this is what they came up with on their debut album, I can only imagine what they'll be capable of on their 2nd and 3rd albums. I cannot recommend this album highly enough, and I suggest you pick it up for yourself now!

You can listen to tracks from These Four Walls here
Then go and buy it here