Short, but not too sweet

I hate punk that's positive. Which is good in this case, because there's hardly anything uplifting on this album at all. B Is for B-Sides is a collection of session tracks left over from the cutting room floor of 2003's Anthem. That's 12 tracks to be exact, and it makes for a very short record. \nJust in case it's been a while since you've popped in a Less Than Jake album, the current members are Vinnie, Chris, Roger, Buddy and JR. \nWhile most of the poppy-punk music on the record is about hopelessness and despair via self-actualization and/or alcohol, there is a song, "Showbiz? Science? Who Cares?," about faith, with lines, "I've read the books, and I still don't have the answers. And that's fine. Whatever it takes to get you by." Oh yeah, and the song right before it, "Jay Frenzal," is about a "big redneck with a meth habit" who destroys the boys' bus. The album might be depressing if it weren't for the band's loud, fast sound. The horns really kick up the ska beat, and the shouted vocals add to their punk feel. I don't think B-Sides is a bad record, but it's really not long enough to tell.