Can only promise you Scottish awesomeness, not jetpacks.

Let me just start this post with a story. I'd say about two years ago I went to a concert with two of my friends. The show was for Jimmy Eat World and they were one of my favorite bands at the time. I took to my seat on the balcony eagerly waiting for the opening band to come on so they could quickly finish and get the hell off the stage. Just then a quartet of guys with real heavy accents walked up to the beautiful Wiltern stage. The lead singer mumbled something and then they launched into a set that left me speechless. Jimmy Eat World came on after them and they were awesome as usual but I couldn't stop thinking about that opener. That opener was We Were Promised Jetpacks.

These guys play with such an energy that it is really hard to not be in awe of their presence. How this band hasn't blown up yet is really beyond me. They are currently building a pretty nice following here in the States but are already pretty well known in Europe. They are almost Scotland's answer to the British Arctic Monkeys. As fast as these guys play they are able to change tempo's in a song almost flawlessly and make it sound really natural. 

The band is made up of Adam Thompson (vocals, guitar), Michael Palmer (guitar), Sean Smith (bass) and Darren Lackie (drums). Their first full length album came out in 2009 and was titled These Four Walls and it was quite an impressive debut. The songs that will grab you by the you-know-whats are It's Thunder and it's Lightning, Quiet Little Voices and Roll Up Your Sleeves. They also slow it down with the beautifully atmospheric Keeping Warm which in 8 minutes delivers through out. Overall a very good album. Their second album In The Pit of the Stomach is just as good and a little bit more mature. Literally every single song is amazing and different. 

The second album was so good that I just had to see them again. I took a friend who had never really heard of them a few months ago and he was blown away. An hour after the show once we both regained our ability to hear properly his response was "one of the best shows i've ever seen in my life, top 3 for sure." More people need to know about this band as they surely are one of the best up-and-comers out there today. Give it a shot would ya!? It's awesome, I promise. 

Not bad for a couple Scottish lads, eh?

- E