Jets Overhead cross boundaries with 'No Nations'

July 9, 3:54 PMIndie Rock ExaminerAlli Sands

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Photo by Stephanie Hull

Chatting with Jets Overhead’s vocalist and guitar player, Adam Kittredge, while he and the rest of the band sat in traffic on their way to LaGuardia Airport to fly to Tennessee for this year’s Bonnaroo, the musician couldn’t help but talk about his first visit to the festival. “We’ll be mainlining Red Bull,” says Kittredge as he expounds on being, “pretty excited to see Bruce [Springsteen] play in front of all those people.” Going on to mention how, “on a personal level, I am totally flattered,” about being asked to play at Bonnaroo, Kittredge seemed raring to go with anticipation and pride as Jets Overhead would be performing songs off of No Nations, the band’s sophomore album, to a massive festival crowd.

Released on June 23, 2009, No Nations has been compared to the work of Pink Floyd and Radiohead. While the melodic, soothing similarities exist throughout the album, No Nations bears an almost upbeat interpretation of ambient rock that effortlessly floats from the speakers, and sets itself apart from its musical influences. Songs such as “Weathervanes (In the Way)” take on a comfortable, homey essence with a familiar quality that doesn’t come across as copied or overdone. The harmonious combination of vocals from Antonia Freybe-Smith, Luke Renshaw (also on drums), and Kittredge create an ambiguity that comes across as though the songs were created to soothe the souls of any listener.

According to Kittredge, No Nation was something, “we wrote as a group, hunkered down in our jam studio.” Kittredge explains, “We didn’t set out with a specific theme in mind [for No Nations], but you can’t help but be influenced by the politics of the time. I guess the themes are there to be found.” The writing processes which yielded upwards of forty songs was, “whittled down to twenty songs,” and Kittredge goes on to say, “Hopefully, we can put out another set of recordings.”

Whatever comes out next from Jets Overhead, whether it’s selections from their previously unreleased work or entirely new material, will no doubt further reflect the band’s strength as ambient rock artists just as No Nations did.