I don't know about you, but I've been to Gainesville, Florida. You've got your Gator football pride. You've got your binge drinking. You've got your hometown pride in the likes of Tom Petty and Marshall Tucker. And -- so it seems -- you've got your ska. Hometown boys Less Than Jake have put the town on the ska map, and with a little luck they might yet catch up with the local heroes up the road in Jacksonville, Limp Bizkit. Such things dreams are made of.

Armed with a fearless horn section, Less Than Jake dishes out an impressive array of pop ska tunes. Fast and furious, these cuts go right for the college kid's jugular, daring all drunken party-goers not to pogo or show off their privates to MTV cameras. Each track features the usual suspects: volleys between fat, distorted and clean, staccato guitar licks, spoken/sung lyrics of angst and "Man, I screwed up" tales of love woes, and blow-the-roof-off horns. Apparently the endless touring across the globe has helped this outfit tighten up, for each track is mighty well-tuned. For all you gamers out there, think of Less Than Jake as your personal Tony Hawk's Pro-Skater soundtrack. Strap on your walkman, pop in this disc and picture yourself busting moves over every car and cop that blocks your path. This is the kind of music that pumps you up for deeds of daring. Broken legs and bruised egos be damned.

Say what you will about ska, but Less Than Jake certainly must be one of the hardest working bands out there. Touring its ass off and running a well organized web site packed with info, the band clearly hungers for the big leagues. Add to that the outfit's catchy ditties and you've got a band to watch -- especially live, or so Less Than Jake's vociferous fans say. Keep on rockin', boys. You'll break out of Gainesville yet.