These Four Walls

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ALBUM INFORMATION

Total Tracks: 11   Total Length: 49:35

eMusic Review

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Caitlin Dewey

eMusic Contributor

kt

06.15.09
Wide-eyed, heart-on-sleeve poetics meet powerhouse post-punk
2009 | Label: Fat Cat Records / Second Wind

Brooding, stormy and bittersweet — the first few bars of "It's Thunder and It's Lightening" sum up, in a series of melancholy chords, exactly what We Were Promised Jetpacks are all about. The Scottish four-piece deals in ardent post-punk, blurring the instrumental aggression of label-mates Frightened Rabbit and the Twilight Sad with the sort of soul-baring poetics that could make Bright Eyes blush.

In any other band, that blend might seem impossible; so much vulnerability and violence simply couldn't fit into 16 tracks. But for Jetpacks, at least, the marriage of wide-eyed, heart-on-sleeve lyrics and powerhouse instrumentation seems like a natural matter of course. Adam Thompson's yearning brogue alternately soars and grovels over subjects typically left to emo bands, murmuring about curfews and damning failed relationships in nearly the same breath. Meanwhile, drummer Darren Lackie pounds out a series of concussive tattoos and skittering cymbal taps as waves of echoing, ominous guitar sluice together in the foreground.

Jetpacks 'tempos are as varied as heartbreak itself, and both elegies and anthems find good homes on this debut. But the band's strongest moments are not the gently strummed hues of "Conductor" or the mumbled medieval narratives of "An Almighty Thud." Rather,… read more »

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Possible album of the year

leighdawber

Absolutely brilliant. Definitely fits nicely alongside Frightened Rabbit and The Twilight Sad on the FatCat roster who, frankly, can't seem to sign a bad Scottish band to save their lives.

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Album of the year

showgirlblues

This is without doubt my album of 2009. A collection of the most urgent, uplifting and beautiful songs I've heard in a very long time. Guitar-driven indie with a big, big heart.

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These Four Walls

tomallen400

I absolutely love this album! Bought it after hearing their first single 'Quiet Little Voices'. Was really impressed to find that all the tracks on the album are good, can't really single any out! the guys have done a good job on this one.

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They Say All Media Guide

We Were Promised Jetpacks have a lot in common with their fellow Glaswegians Frightened Rabbit and the Twilight Sad: not only do they share a label, FatCat, but their takes on earnest Scottish indie bear more than a passing resemblance to each other. While all of these groups are fond of soaring choruses and feature singers with endearingly thick burrs, We Were Promised Jetpacks distinguish themselves from their labelmates on These Four Walls. A little rawer than Frightened Rabbit and a little more streamlined than the Twilight Sad, WWPJ manage to be brooding but not mopey as they contrast post-punk urgency with indie pop melodicism. At their best, We Were Promised Jetpacks find inventive ways of making fast tempos and sprightly melodies sound more than a little sad, especially on the singles “Quiet Little Voices” and “Roll Up Your Sleeves,” which boasts the oddly romantic line “I can wait till summer/When you’re warmer.” At times, WWPJ do give into their dour side too much, and while there’s no denying that their dynamic shifts and all-or-nothing climaxes pack a punch, songs such as “This Is My House, This Is My Home” and “It’s Thunder and It’s Lightning” get repetitive. Fortunately, as These Four Walls unfolds, WWPJ show that they can do more than just anthemic angst. “Moving Clocks Run Slow”‘s sparkling guitars sound downright impatient with joy, while the album’s most epic track, “Keeping Warm,” is an eight-minute meditation on how precious life is. They’re also adept at seeking out life’s uncomfortable but real moments with lyrics like “Your silence is bearable/But only in short bursts” and “I whispered out my greatest fears to anyone who would hear me” on the acoustic closer, “An Almighty Thud.” These Four Walls’ best moments suggest We Were Promised Jetpacks can continue to stake out their own territory among their Glasgow peers. – Heather Phares

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Activity

  • 02.10.12 Shit's going down at Frightened Rabbit! @ The HMV Picture House http://t.co/UWgtPUVT
  • 02.05.12 we're playing liverpool on TUESDAY! at the shipping forecast. i'm going to listen to @hotclubdeparis all day tomorrow to prepare.
  • 01.31.12 Sean Smith was just spotted in Germany in a blue van with agent Andrew Bush, possibly heading to Werder Bremen @bbcsport #bbcfootball
  • 01.30.12 i'm not sure about Sheamus. love it in theory, but i think he should've been in the match longer. #RoyalRumble
  • 01.30.12 ok, Sheamus winning - good or bad? #RoyalRumble
  • 01.28.12 Münster, Germany! http://t.co/ruTN2z3d
  • 01.28.12 unlucky Ayr. we just got too tired. #AyrAyrSuperAyr
  • 01.22.12 good one http://t.co/5uVoj9dN
  • 01.22.12 hey! we've been featured on Episode 35 of the @vivogig podcast we did at fun fun fun fest in austin a few months back - http://t.co/NJZ0hbbO
  • 01.19.12 Adam + Gerry vs Peter + Sean @ Flog Auditorium http://t.co/8sguIRR2
  • 01.17.12 nice wee view from the venue in Martigny, Switzerland! http://t.co/x4NBfJYd
  • 01.16.12 More sightseeing in Paris today. There's still some tickets left for our show at Point Ephémère tonight! http://t.co/quWIO3pj
  • 01.15.12 Took a trip to the Louvre in Paris today, saw wee moaning Lisa... now we're trying snails! http://t.co/Dv8lCPgD
  • 01.10.12 somebody call my momma! #Funkasaurus
  • 01.09.12 http://t.co/sfZnNe8U #ReturnOftheKing
  • 01.09.12 #ReturnOftheKing
  • 01.06.12 Look what they were throwing out at the cinema http://t.co/hN3X0iHj
  • 01.04.12 Nice corset Steven Taylor #BBCFootball
  • 01.03.12 chris jericho is SO GOOD! what a perfect, brilliant return.
  • 01.02.12 there is no band anywhere better than Bear Hands (@bearhandsband). that's my mood today. and pretty much every other day too.