Scottish indie rock and post-punk outfit We Were Promised Jetpacks (WWPJP) will be performing at Savannah Stopover Festival on Sat., March 12 at the Georgia Railroad Museum. The band will be coming to Savannah for the first time ever as a part of their U.S. tour.
Ever since winning their high school’s battle of the bands, WWPJP continued writing songs and never stopped. Now 15 years into their career, the band has released five studio albums, and are known for their melodious songs laced with soaring guitars and catchy, heartfelt lyrics.
It’s been two long years since WWPJP were able to take their music on the road, an unfortunate circumstance spurred on by pandemic induced lockdowns.
The band’s frontman and guitarist Adam Thompson said the band is excited and ready to begin performing after their 2021 tour was postponed.
With Thompson living in the United States, and the other two members of the band living in Scotland, the frontman says that touring can be a stressful endeavor, but one that brings a modicum of excitement.
“We’re excited to get back at it and hang out with each other. Two years without touring is weird for a band, so it’s great to finally be on the precipice of getting out there and playing shows,” said Thompson.
For Thompson, playing live music and interacting with fans are aspects of touring he always looks forward to, but going out to eat in the cities he visits is his favorite part about being on the road.
“I love eating out and looking at menus. Apart from the music and performing at shows, my favorite thing is trying different types of foods,” said Thompson.
The band is known for putting on live shows that capture the intensity and explosive nature of their studio albums. But “Enjoy the View” marks a sonical change from the previous entries in their discography.
“Compared to our first album when we were 20 or 21, it was all about coming out of the traps hot and proving ourselves. Something we wanted to do on this album was just to have a dreamy, more chilled vibe.” said Thompson
Thompson and his bandmates, Sean Smith (bass) and Darren Lackey (drums) wrote their fifth album during a time of immense uncertainty and isolation. Despite the situation, the band was able to come together and produce what they call an uplifting piece of work.
Singles “If It Happens” and “Fat Chance” encapsulate the feel-good energy of Enjoy The View, offering listeners a sense of hope during trying times.
“No matter how down and out you get, there’s always hope that things will get better,” said Thompson.
“At the time of writing, it was just after a nice period in my life where everything was going really well for like a year or two, and I felt great. I felt like I had a good perspective on everything and my outlook on life was much more positive. We wanted to get that across, but it was weird trying to maintain that headspace when the world was falling apart.”
Being in lockdown also shifted the way the band usually approached writing albums, with all communication being done virtually.
“It completely flipped it. Normally when we write an album, the songs come a bit more naturally, and it’s a lot more of a slow process that gradually takes shape. This time it felt different preparing for it. We felt like we had to think about it more. For this album, we were demoing everything, and sending each other projects and files and gradually building songs up like that. So it was strange. I still picture songs on the computer screen, where you could see the start of the song and where it would end. We could see where the drums would go or where the guitar would go, so it was a little more clinical in terms of writing,” said Thompson.
Going into Stopover, WWPJP are focused and ready to perform their newest album to live audiences, and bring with them a positive energy that will be a clear standout amongst a talented festival lineup.
We Were Promised Jetpacks will hit the Machine Shop Stage at the Georgia Railroad Museum on Sat., March 12. Visit savannahstopover.com for info.
