Get Born

Album Review

Jet's Get Born is a seriously rocking album that comes off as a mix between the White Stripes' bluesy insouciance and AC/DC's cockeyed swagger. Toss in some New York Dolls strut, maybe some of Sweet's jailbait philosophizing, definitely some of Oasis' look-at-me attitude, some of the Verve's sense of grandeur, and you've got something to impress your friends as you blast it out of your car speakers on a Friday night. There are a lot of other bands traveling a similar path these days and it is hard to explain why this record works so well when so many others sound weak and studied. Maybe it is because they hail from the no-nonsense Australian rock tradition. Maybe it is the tough but clean production by Dave Sardy. Most likely it is the songs. They are catchy with singalong choruses, with lots of "hey"s and handclaps and glam stomp beats. "Rollover D.J.," "Get What You Need," and "Get Me Outta Here" are tight, raw, and flashy rockers. It is a sure sign that you are dealing with a band that has it all together when the ballads are as good as the rockers. "Look What You've Done" is a piano-based weeper that only needs some swelling strings to launch it into Guns N' Roses territory, "Move On" is an early-'70s Stones country ballad with some fine slide work. The only track that really falters is the silly and mean-spirited "Cold Hard Bitch," which takes an ill-advised trip down Nazareth lane and leaves the listener with a foul taste in their mouth. The placement of Get Born's sweetest ballad ("Come Around Again" right after it is the only thing that saves the album. And it is an album worth saving. Get Born is a very promising debut by a band that steals from all the right places, rocks non-ironically — even epically at times — and sounds great blasting out of a car or on headphones.