As if the world — not to mention my teenaged children — needed any more proof that I am hopelessly uncool and out of it, I just caught on to this disc.
Sure, I saw the memorable iPod commercial featuring “Are You Gonna Be My Girl,” but it wasn’t like I was going to buy an album based on an advertising jingle, even one with that much adrenalin and attitude.
No, it was the eventual second (or third? I dunno) single, the dreamy ballad “Look What You’ve Done,” that made its way into my imagination and simply refused to leave. I would find myself humming the melody at the weirdest times, catching myself mid-chorus before I actually started singing out loud (an act which has been known to cause small birds to fall from nearby trees). As a firm believer in the “feed a fever” philosophy, I knew there was only one cure — retail therapy.
Jet is a gleefully retro quartet that combines the raunchy rock and roll swagger of the Stones and the Faces with the ecstatic riff-rocking of fellow Aussies AC/DC. Or at least that’s the easy conclusion to come to after head-bobbing your way through thumping, propulsive, pure-pleasure rockers like “Last Chance,” “Rollover DJ,” “Get What You Need,” “Get Me Outta Here” and of course “Are You Gonna Be My Girl,” every last one of them complete with a grin-inducing main riff and shout-along chorus. “Take It Or Leave It” even manages to find that same sweet spot (“hard rockabilly”?) between Chuck Berry and heavy metal that Led Zeppelin mined so well on “Rock And Roll.” Dirty-sweet riffing, thundering beats and sassy flourishes (piano, studio noise, tambourine, stop-start dynamics)… yeah, this stuff is just plain fun.
And then they pull out their secret weapon.
Because Jet — brothers Nic Cester (lead vocals, guitar) and Chris Cester (drums, vocals), along with Cam Muncey (guitar, vocals) and Mark Wilson (bass, piano, vocals) — might be even better at ballads than rockers. In addition to the catchy-as-hell “Look What You’ve Done,” they toss off terrific, straight-from-the-gut slow-burners like “Come Around Again,” “Timothy” and the gorgeous “Move On.” The latter’s opening verse also places the band precisely where they aim to be musically, beautifully mimicing the quiet, close-miked wistfulness of the opening to the Stones’ classic “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” (There’s also more than a little Abbey Road-era Beatles in the somewhat experimental “Lazy Gun.”)
More than just a powerhouse debut, Get Born is a hell of a good time, one of those instant-party albums you throw in the player in your car and leave in for a week straight. Few higher compliments can be offered to an album of rock and roll music.
