PEDALJETS

What’s In Between

thepedaljets.com

The indie world’s sudden interest in all things ’90s is great news for the Pedaljets, which is funny, since they missed out on that decade the first time around. Formed in Lawrence, Kan., in 1984, this is one of rock’s classic “coulda been a contender” bands, and had they stuck it out after the 1989 release of their sophomore album, they might have found fame in the post-Nirvana era. On their first new record in 24 years, the Jets look to make up for lost time, revisiting a punky, garagey, power-poppy sound whose recent resurgence is more about timelessness than trendiness. Were they a new band, you might hear the jangly “Tangled Up,” chunky “Nothing Boy,” and aching “Goodbye to All of That” and accuse them of ripping off R.E.M., the Afghan Whigs and the Replacements. But the Jets were there back in the day, and these groups were peers, not influences. “Change will make us the same again,” frontman Mike Allmayer sings at one point, well aware of how things come full circle. He missed his chance to be a star, but his music will sound great in 20 years.