Jetplane Landing are a bit of an oddity. Hailing from the disperate cities of Derry in Northern Island and London, England, they were seen as the saviors of British rock music when their debut was released. Fusing the aggressive and political leanings of Rage Against the Machine with the more funk and pop infused songs of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, they’ve crafted a little niche for themselves in the left-field indie-rock arena. Backlash Cop see’s them further pursue this path and develop their political leanings further.

The self-confessed revolutionary rockers, this album sees them slightly shift their musical template. This isn’t a straight-forward rock record, there’s influences of funk, soul and hip-hop in the mix and it’s all the better for it. Their lyrics are still impressive and call for action again the corporate machine. Backlash Cop is their most consistent work to date and yet still sees them stretch their musical muscle. The tracks all seamlessly merge into one another, recalling some kind of concept album, and the songs take in everything from Dizzy Gillespie’s Presidential campaign of 1964 to asking why no-one plays Les Savy Fav on the radio. It’s bold, ambitious and just about works. The music frequently mirrors that of Rage Against The Machine with the crashing riffs and the stuttered, almost rap delivery of the vocals. It’s clever and intelligent but sometimes, just sometimes, it’s a little too clever for it’s own good. The lecture that is White Music with it’s comments about soul music and remembrance of James Brown, grates a little with it’s message to the machine; “To you all you DJ’s drinking designer coffee… have you ever play anything that scares you?… Real people will hunt you down and storm your offices”. It’s a bit much really. Also, the RATM riffs do become a little annoying after a while – are these guys aping their heroes or trying to be ever-so post-modern and make a pastiche of them and their views?

During it’s short and sweet lifetime, Backlash Cop switches between exhilarating and tiresome. There’s pleasures to be had from their polticial leanings and cracking riffs, but it can sound a little too forced and cleverer-than-thou at times. However, it does make a change to hear something a bit different and to hear a British act look beyond their borders and see the bigger picture for once.
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Links
Jetplane Landing [official site] [myspace]