Jettared hail from the Flint, MI area but the humble Midwest is probably the last place one would expect them to call home when judging by the prevalent post NY hardcore influence contained upon this CD. To put it bluntly, Jettared heavily take influence from groups like Glassjaw, however they also incorporate an underlying sense of calmness and control into their material, which along with some electronic elements helps to them to differentiate themselves a bit, allowing them to also draw comparisons to the likes of Finch and Thursday as well.

Vocally, the music is guided by the same maniacally emotive melodies of Glassjaw's Daryl Palumbo as band frontman Chris Konkle utilizes tones and patterns inherently similar, feverishly slamming back and forth from vibrantly torn emotion to bewildered rage. However, he also tends to be a bit more restrained and placid than the latter, giving some flowing harmonies an opportunity to develop and leave an impression, rather than consistently dissolve edgy aggressive outbursts. Guitar wise the music is slightly more straight forward, employing driving riffs with rich distortion to catapult the songs forward, while also embellishing them with vague touches of effect laden atmospheric strums and squeals to ensure a sonic depth. The bass playing as such is a tad more fundamental and lays down a wealth of roomy grooves which keep the songs afloat, almost serving as a cushion between the guitars and the stiff punchy drumming, which keeps the music firm and rigidly paced, as confidently executed arrays of rolls, snare combos and cymbal splashes ensure a steady momentum.

All in all, Jettared are a talented band who are more than able to write interesting songs with gorgeous melodies that captivate the listeners attention, only to unexpectedly then punish them with violent verbal exorcisms that make tourette's syndrome look pleasant. The inclusion of female vocals on the track, "Empty Apology", is excellently done and goes far to expand the dynamic range of the group, as one of their key strong points is sculpting starkly contrasting melodies. Unfortunately, that being said, its hard not to notice the direct influence that Glassjaw has had on this band which ultimately can greatly hinder the enjoyment of this disc in the end. There are numerous vocal patterns, riff structures and song progressions that are lifted fairly blatantly from a handful of track's on Glassjaw's, "Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence", and though they are often varied and given their own spin, its still not hard to see where they came from, making it a bit disappointing because this quartet are definitely talented enough to step out into their own without trying to emulate their peers. With a stronger emphasis put towards finding their own identity and style without borrowing so heavily from others, Jettared will easily cut through the current up and coming crop and establish a respectable name for themselves, especially when considering that the foundation and basic elements of a great band are already noticeably in place. For now though, its just the development of a more original sound that requires work, as its not easy to fully enjoy their music or distinguish them by their own merits with such heavy similarities to others in place, debut effort or not.