Well, maybe not. Now that Less Than Jake ditched Sire Records, they seem to have realized their limitless freedom and have acted upon it by self-releasing their latest effort, a dive back into the group's signature brand of melodic ska. GNV FLA marks a total return to form for Less Than Jake – it's a portrait of their former selves, circa Borders and Boundaries and Hello Rockview. It'll take you about one track to realize that it was a bad series of studio pushes rather than age and loss of inspiration that ruined the previous album. They've still got it.

Energy-wise, Less Than Jake keeps up with the standards they set in 1995 when they debuted. Sure, over the years the guys have gathered some newer influences (on In With The Out Crowd, money seemed to be one of the bigger ones) but this is still basically the same crazed cigarette smoking group of delinquents – I know that your grandfather can't play the drums this quickly. You'd think that an intentional effort to recapture the past would crash and burn, but you get the impression that these were the songs they'd been meaning to write the whole time the last album was being chemically birthed in a test tube near Hollywood.

Track by track, this is as good as any Less Than Jake album. They've kept the songwriting fresh, and there's a few influences in the mix that haven't really been seen before on other albums. The way the poppy, melodic vocal harmonizing blends with the forward thrusting guitar in "Abandon Ship" is vintage LTJ, but the opening arpeggio and the horn refrain recall other cult ska legends Five Iron Frenzy. The blazing guitar riffs of "Setting Son" almost sound like A Wilhelm Scream. Pictures these contributions customized fully to Less Than Jake's barreling punk beats and heartfelt singing and you've got some of the best punk rock out there. Still.

This is a way more important punk comeback than H2O's Nothing to Prove, and a way better album too. (For starters, it didn't need a title like Nothing to Prove to reassure fans and the band itself.) Nothing on here is crunchy enough to capture the true spirit of the first couple albums, but every tune is totally as catchy and totally as skankable. It's a ballsy move and a worthy listen; who would have thought it would be Less Than Jake who proved age ain't nothin' but a number?

Don't Believe Me?
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