Perhaps one of the greatest band names I can think of, We Were Promised Jetpacks garners humuoros attention as well as conjouring bitter remorse. The Scottish indie rock band's music holds onto the pent-up angst while adding layers of vulnerability across their sound. The same way someone strapped to a rocket might feel; full of excitable nerves, tense, but ready to take off.
WWPJ played the Doug Fir Monday evening, touring with female duo and fellow Scottish outfit Honeblood as openers. Portland marked both the second night of their North American tour as well as a 5-piece band, after adding friend and guitarist/keyboardist Stuart McGachan in early 2013.
Releasing their first album These Four Walls in 2009 WWPJ gained much poularity and success with the indie rock/emo alternative crowd. With tracks like Quiet Little Voices their energy and sound fell somewhere between Britain's Block Party catchiness and Taking Back Sunday's thrashy pop.
Their sophomore effort In the Pit of the Stomach from 2011 continued their rumbling rock and dissonant rolling anthems without branching terribly far from their initial and successful formula. Various tracks of their albums found their way onto teen tv soundtracks(i.e.Vampire Diaries) proving their emotional rock resonated with many.
Now in the process of recording their 3rd album, due in the Fall of 2014, their current tour is giving them a chance to test new material live. The almost packed room proved that even on a Monday night WWPJ has a loyal fanbase interested to hear what's coming next. Of their few new tracks it appears WWPJ are attempting to build beyond adolescent agnst and into adult rock and menacing melancholy. Perhaps aiming for the success of UK indie rock darlings Foals, their music contains both heartbreak as well as glass breaking potential.
They seemed to have their most fun when trying out the new material rather than playing audience favorites, perhaps in hopes of breaking out of their own mold. With building intros, ominious interludes(Sore Thumb), and a strictly intsrumental encore WWPJ brought to mind the charging force and emotional punch that has given Austin's Explosions In the Sky a decade of success.
While compairsons can be made contiually in the alternative rock world, singer Adam Thompson's distinct and obvious Scottish accent sets the band apart in a least one major way. I'm excited to see We Were Promised Jetpacks pushing forward and holding their weight among contemporay rock while striving to find and forge both a voice and sound wholly their own.
Listening Man hosts The Lunchbox Mondays at noon.
thanks for writing about this band. I'd heard of them - their name is so memorable - but not listened to them before and didn't know they were from Scotland.
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