Less Than Jake Announce New Album; Stream New Song

Just preordered! Super excited

 

Also, does anyone know why they have a new drummer?

 

They haven't gone into detail but it seems like Vinnie had had enough of touring and decided to focus on other things.

 

Well, that was really good.

 

Great track! This band puts me in such a happy place.

 

Dope

 

hell yeah. even a 'meh' album from them is still a fun listen. they're not typically a winter band for me though so it'll be strange giving them plays around christmas time haha

that said

how have they not made a ska christmas album yet

 

God bless them. Not my stuff anymore but love em. Songs just okay. BIG news about Vinnie though. If anyone knows more please point me in the right direction.

 

On October 24, 2018, Fiorello announced that while he would remain a member of Less Than Jake, he would no longer be touring with the band.[7] After Fiorello's announcement, the band recruited Teen Idols drummer Matt Yonker as their touring drummer. On September 1, 2019, Roger Lima announced via social media that despite prior reports, Fiorello was no longer with the band in any capacity and would not be participating in the creation of the band's upcoming album.

 

He left like 2 years ago to stay at home with his family and work on some other creative stuff. He released a book of short stories this year and is doing some collaborative art/music thing that is coming out this month.

 

"our old lyricist/drummer" is a pretty casual way to refer to him

 

Thanks man!

 

Yeah I thought that wording was kinda cold

 

Seasons Greetings from Less Than Jake - Wikipedia

 

Haha nice! make a longer one!!

 

Digging the sound of this. LTJ is one of those that often hits me hard with the singles then leaves me with a lackluster feeling when the album comes out. Hoping this breaks that trend!

 

None of the songs are actually holiday-related

 

Yeah, the article is extremely direct about that, lol. “Despite the EP's artwork and title, the band has stated that it is not a festive-themed release, noting, ‘This is no Christmas record.’” Sean’s request remains unfulfilled.

 

I’m actually really bummed to hear about Vinny not being creatively involved anymore :(

 

I’m pretty sure it was an amicable split at first, but something happened along the way and now there’s some hostility there. I think between Vinnie and Roger. I remember reading somewhere Roger unfollowed him on social media or something

 

Yeah, that's the vibe I'm getting too. I'm not sure what the timing of all that was (when it went from amicable to WTF)... But I wonder if part of the animosity now is because of that Inevitables project.

As far as the way the new single sounds, I find it pretty interesting. Because it's still definitely a Less Than Jake song. But the song structure is a little different and the lyrics are... Again, still very Less Than Jake. And still really good (there's some great lines in there). But it's definitely not Vinnie. Which isn't a bad thing; just an observation.

I'm excited about the record and curious to see if having a new member jolted some energy into 'em.

 

Maybe if Vinnie was still in the band he would have sorted out that Anthem pre-order that keeps getting pushed back!

That's all I wanted to say... I'm bitter

 

Initially they said Vinnie would still be recording with the band but not touring and then Roger put out a statement that could be read as negative about how they have a new drummer now and they were going to record with him instead. That said it could simply be that Vinnie's schedule didn't line up with when the rest of them wanted to record or other creative differences and they just had to take the business decision.

 

I feel like things are probably a little weird. Vinnie has done a few podcast interviews recently, and while he doesn't shy away from LTJ questions and says he wishes them all the best... He doesn't say the usual "We still talk" or whatever that some bands will put out there.

My best guess? They had plans, Vinnie bailed on or wanted to delay them to focus on something else for one reason or another. Left a bad taste in the some of the other band members' mouths.

I'm guessing, though, it's the sort of thing that will blow over with time. They were friends for so long, with such a deep history, that it's probably a little sore and not the sort of thing they want to address publicly at the moment for fear of saying something shitty they might regret later or that could potentially cause an even bigger rift. The whole "if you can't say something nice" thing.

I just hope they do a bit more to address it than the whole Get Up Kids/Dewees thing...