Oh, Leona!

So, Rob Getzschman sent me a preview copy of the long-awaited first full-length album from Analog Jetpack, And How They Flew. I took it with me in the car today to listen to it.

Analog Jetpack is the indie/punk project Rob fronts that originated in Washington DC. Now that Rob has relocated to LA, though, and his cohorts are busy, who knows what the future holds for the group.

After years of crafting folk and folk-rock tunes inspired by early American folk, Woody Guthrie, early 20th-century blues and more recent artists like Bob Dylan and Dave Van Ronk, Rob shifted to punk when he hooked up with collaborators Robby Sahm and Dan Ryan in DC. Although he compromised little lyrically (he likes to use big words and big ideas), Rob was surprised at how the kicky beats they were laying down inspired people to get up and dance… and he liked it.

The band toured the East Coast last spring with Indie Roots, a handful of DC bands trying to raise awareness of the fact that DC lacks a vote in congress. They recorded an EP, This Disk Flies, which includes “rougher” versions of a few of the songs included on the new release.

From the beginning, the things that I loved about Analog Jetpack were the look Rob was creating for the band (see comic above or retro floppy disk case for both the EP and the album) and the raw quality of the songs. I’d been listening to his meticulous folk songs for nearly ten years the first time I heard one of the punky new tunes, and it was refreshing to hear the artist at play.

I don’t know what I think of the new album, quite honestly. I need to listen a few more times before doing a proper review. It’s more carefully put together than the EP. The tracks I’ve been enjoying for more than a year are “cleaner,” and the musicianship is more advanced. There are electric guitar solos where there were none before. I can’t decide if the music has evolved or merely become self-conscious…

Which raises questions for me about who owns music once the fans have had a listen. Am I sorry that something I fancied I owned has been altered by its true owner? Or am I really hearing the songs for what they are?

I promise a review post-haste. Also coming: a review of Justin King and the Apologies’ first full-length album. I have a stack of them to distribute to the local radio stations…