We Were Promised Jetpacks — These Four Walls

Music Review
We Were Promised Jetpacks' These Four Walls
You'd be disappointed if you were promised a jetpack and didn't get it. You shouldn't be disappointed by the debut full-length from this Edinburgh quartet.

We Were Promised Jetpacks have drawn comparisons to friends and countrymen Frightened Rabbit, with whom they've also toured. Unlike many Scottish singers, whose accents are stronger when they talk than sing, frontman and lyricist Adam Thompson carries a noticeable brogue throughout this 11-track effort.

The group play an intense, propulsive and often danceable brand of indie rock, though the mood lightens somewhat with the use of a tinkling xylophone on "It's Thunder And It's Lightning." Perhaps paying homage to Orange Juice, a fine Scottish band from the early '80s, they add more jangly guitar to "Moving Clocks Run Slow."

The more experimental "A Half Built House" comes across as half-assed and the acoustic "An Almighty Thud" has a self-fulfilling title and is a dull way to end what, for the most part, is a promising first album.

Get it from We Were Promised Jetpacks - These Four Walls

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