We Were Promised Jetpacks’ newest album “In the Pit of the Stomach” impresses

Courtesy Fat Cat Records

By Katie Barger
Managing Web Editor

Since their discovery on MySpace, it has been nothing but smooth sailing for indie rock band We Were Promised Jetpacks, and the journey continues with their sophomore album, “In the Pit of the Stomach.”

The band’s debut album, “These Four Walls,” features playful, introspective lyrics paired with fast-paced rhythms and noise-rock guitar riffs. “In the Pit of the Stomach” takes the energy found in “These Four Walls” and launches it in a new direction. The album shows the band is maturing without losing its original sound.

“Medicine,” the first single from the new record, is a clear example of the new path that the band is heading toward. The song sticks to head-nodding beats and steadily builds up to a feverishly catchy chorus. The original noise-rock sound is still there, especially toward the end of the track.

However, We Were Promised Jetpacks finds themselves looking for innovative ways of conveying their brand of indie rock. Glockenspiels have been cast off for synthesizers, which hum under guitars and give an ‘80s vibe to the album.

The track “Pear Tree” reveals the progression of We Were Promised Jetpacks. The fundamentals are still able to be heard, however, and the band gives more composition to the song. Playing with more volume and structure allows the track to become more fluid and mature, which adds quality to the band’s sound.

Most of the band’s creative tunes come solely from the band’s instrumentation. The guitar work does not stray far from its post-punk roots, but it does build more of an atmosphere, varying its jagged lines into more of a wash at times.

A track that completely unfurls, like “Boy in the Backseat,” gains more from exploding while staying structured, rather than building up throughout the track. While the band is improving its sound and adding tone within its scope, it needs to watch the line between a consistent aesthetic and a repetitive album. Similar sounding songs throughout “In the Pit of the Stomach” don’t necessarily equal coherence, but rather, unoriginality.

It seems like the band has realized its sound on just its second album, but it still has plenty of space to explore. The song “Act on Impulse” toys with expectations. It grows patiently but resists a full release at the first expected peak.

More intriguing, the early part of the song suggests the sort of explorations the band could make within tighter limits, creating more effective music with an expanded palette but in a decreased space.

We Were Promised Jetpacks may have found their style for now, but this album hints that nothing has settled yet. “In the Pit of the Stomach,” released Oct. 4, is available on the internet and stores nationwide.