Album Review: If You're Young by The Static Jacks

Upon first glance it might be easy to overlook Fearless Records’ newest band the Static Jacks. With some of the label’s heavy hitters such as Breathe Carolina, Every Avenue, blessthefall, and Mayday Parade each dropping albums over the course of just a few months, the New Jersey indie rock act has the challenge of keeping their debut full length If You’re Young from getting lost in the shuffle. Hard work is something that has come natural for the Static Jacks thus far; the band self-released three EPs between 2007 and 2009 while touring and slowly building a fan base and becoming a staple of the New Jersey rock scene.

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The members of the Static Jacks may be in their twenties, but they sound like they've been listening to a lot of music that's around 30 years old on their debut full-length If You're Young (which follows a self-released 2009 EP, Laces). That music went under such names as "new wave," "post-punk," and "power pop" when it emerged in the early '80s from the more raucous punk movement of the late ‘70s. The Static Jacks retain much of the energy of punk, and a bit of the attitude, but their sound has a more polished pop tone to it.

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New Jersey’s The Static Jacks haven’t got the most ambitious creative palette. On first listen, they’re the high-school band who never grew out of playing Green Day covers. On second listen, you hear a note of Anglophilia, but sadly only the sort fostered by playing tour support to [a]The Wombats[/a]. Opener ‘Defend Rosie’ careers in with all the grand impressions of a discarded [a]Alkaline Trio[/a] B-side.It’s hard to ignore the conviction that permeates ‘If You’re Young’; the charitable might find themselves supporting these underdogs striving hard with limited tools.

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