Almanac Music: Aussie Album Review – Jet ‘Get Born’

 

 

In one of those inexplicable but not unfamiliar musical coincidences, I was revisiting Jet’s 2003 album Get Born only a day before it was announced that the band would be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. The HoF nomination has drawn the classic ‘mixed reaction’, moving critics such as The Age’s culture editor Osman Faruqi to question ‘what point (the Hall of Fame) actually serves’.

 

Jet frontman Nic Cester may well have betrayed a hint of sheepishness when he declared, “I don’t see this as a competition and no doubt those deserved will end up there in due course”. For its part, ARIA is portraying Jet’s nomination as being ‘the first of many’ inductees from a younger generation of artists. The merit or otherwise of Jet’s HoF nomination is certainly not a hill I would die on. But it did give me pause to consider how Silverchair, with 21 ARIA wins (more than any other artist) from 49 nominations, are not yet in the Hall of Fame.

 

But back to Get Born. Although I knew little about Jet at the time, I loved this album when it was released. And possibly because Jet’s debut was so unpretentious and simple in what it set out to achieve – a timeless collection of catchy and, yes, derivative tracks – it has not really aged at all. Indeed, in spite of its ubiquity, the smash hit single ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl?’ still sounds as fresh as it did two decades ago, that tambourine and bass intro as ear-catching as ever. ‘Rollover DJ’, ‘Cold Hard Bitch’ and ‘Get Me Outta Here’ still rock hard in a no-nonsense straight-ahead manner. One of my favourite tracks remains ‘Lazy Gun’, which sounds like a cross between T. Rex and the Small Faces.

 

Even the quieter moments – more numerous than I remembered – continue to demand attention. The acoustic ‘Move On’ (shout out to the mention of Flinders Street Station), harmonious ‘Come Around Again’, reflective ‘Timothy’ and The Beatles’ ‘Sexy Sadie’-influenced ‘Look What You’ve Done’ are examples of the band’s song-writing and musical versatility, and hinted at the different directions which the band might explore in the future. Sadly, I was not the only one who was disappointed that follow-ups Shine On and Shaka Rock did not fulfill the band’s obvious potential, despite a number of highlights such as the tracks ‘Shine On’, ‘Seventeen’ and ‘She’s a Genius’.

 

I did not see Jet live in their first incarnation but was fortunate enough to see them at Hanging Rock in 2017 after they reformed to play in support of Bruce Springsteen. I was impressed – Jet were tight and powerful, and Nic Cester’s vocals were impressive. The announcement of their upcoming tour hinted that new material may also be forthcoming. While it might be too much to expect Get Born 2.0, the band members are still of an age that new contributions to their catalogue might well be of substance and worth the wait. But for now, we can enjoy Get Born – it is the sound of a young, vibrant band enthusiastically flexing their musical muscles. And that is a major part of the reason why it still sounds so great.

 

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