We Were Promised Jetpacks

Following in the footsteps of countrymen the Twilight Sad and Frightened Rabbit, the curiously named We Were Promised Jetpacks carved their path with a similar brand of sweeping, catharsis-hungry rock. Their 2009 debut, These Four Walls, combined an emotional pull with a penchant for distortion, flying by at a turbulent pace. Back with album number two, WWJ have widened their scope to allow a little more room to breathe. It takes a few tracks to hear, as "Circles and Squares" kicks off a trio of feverish thrashers that hit like whiplash. The five-and-a-half-minute "Act On Impulse," however, calms the storm with mid-tempo pacing that never fully goes for the climax. That kind of restraint flows into the quiet-to-loud dynamics of both "Hard to Remember" and "Sore Thumb," which were they not sung by the heavy brogue of Adam Thompson, would easily pass for late '90s period Mogwai. These minor shifts in arranging the songs suits their vehement songwriting, but it's a shame they weren't able to replicate the hooks their debut offered, with tunes like "Roll Up Your Sleeves" and the lingering "Quiet Little Voices." Still, when it comes time to start a revolution, In the Pit of the Stomach will certainly find its way on to a playlist.