Ska-punk pros Less Than Jake fuel their latest album with tireless energy and a retro-mindset--getting back to their earliest sounds and paying respects to their hometown Gainesville, FL. "GNV FLA" also marks Less Than Jake's first original release on their new label, Sleep It Off Records.

On the surface, "GNV FLA" is a quintessential Less Than Jake album: fast, hard-kicking punk choruses, celebratory horns and frantic bass lines. It has the rowdy, feel-good energy of 1995's "PezCore," but with more sonic textures and fullness, reflecting the band's impressive 16 years together. From start to finish, these 12 tracks sound like the best house-party soundtrack of the summer. The music, for the most part, plays a fun catch-me-if-you-can game of speed.

These guys may be veterans in their genre, but they show no signs of aging. Lyrically, they still relate to boredom, using student loans to buy alcohol, making mistakes and finding a place in the world, but they also lace these thoughts with more mature, hopeful reflections about society, personal choices, fighting naysayers and facing the future. Positive reinforcement plays a major role in several tracks. "Tell them all to go to hell," Chris Demakes vehemently sings on "Conviction Notice." "The Space They Can't Touch" is a peppy tune that sounds like a good therapy session about not letting negative people drag you down.

On an even deeper level "GNV FLA" is centered on the idea that modern society is obsessed with everything new and a need to alter things that don't need changing. The band takes a personal interest in the wellbeing of Florida. The album title is actually homage to the fact that the Gainesville airport was once known as GNV, but was recently changed. Then, on "The State of Florida," Demakes sings: "The city's skyline hasn't looked the same since the boom in South Florida's real estate / It's turning into more than I can take / Too much, too soon, too little, too late."

More than anything, "GNV FLA" is arguably Less Than Jake's best album yet. In many ways, the music represents a return to the band's roots, but by no means is it a step back.