Warbly Jets – Warbly Jets

Every time rock gets ‘revived,’ one of the most ubiquitous sounds that comes back, if it ever left, is the seventies-inspired strutting guitar rock....
Warbly Jets : Warbly Jets
7.5 Rebel Union
2017 

Warbly Jets : Warbly JetsEvery time rock gets ‘revived,’ one of the most ubiquitous sounds that comes back, if it ever left, is the seventies-inspired strutting guitar rock. It’s the kind that filled stadiums in that decade, which the likes of Oasis and Stone Roses channeled in the nineties, and once again fills stadiums today. But too often it falls into just being strutting, all macho posturing and retread antics. But reviving, not retreading, it in the right way is Los Angeles’ Warbly Jets on their self-titled debut.

It might come as a surprise that the Warbly Jets are from L.A., as their sound definitely hews to the Anglo-rock tradition, but there are also the psychedelic elements more associated with southern California. There are times where it all distinctly works, like the fun guitar-party “Shapeshifter” and “Raw Evolution”. And if “4th Coming Bomb” sounds like a rock version of Fatboy Slim’s “Praise You”, “Praise You” is a great song.

Not every track gels this well, as there are some more forgettable ones (another hallmark of this big psych-guitar sound), and uninspired moments. But Warbly Jets never fall into the trap of taking themselves too seriously or too grandly (they are opening for Liam Gallagher…).

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