Tim Shea opens "Invisible Jet" by praising the Buick Electra as the "best car [he] ever drove." This tribute to a car that had production stopped in the early 1990s is very telling of the group's musical aesthetic. Most groups that had previously been categorized as rock or hard rock have since shifted to either a much heavier nu-metal or much lighter indie-rock sound, complete with an overabundance of instrumentation. Perhaps feeling that 90's rock was the 'best music he's ever heard,' Shea leads Black Helicopter on a solid reminder of what hard rock sounded like prior to the late 90's shift to turn-tables and folk-rock. While it is definitely possible for albums of this genre to fall victim to sounding formulaic and redundant, Invisible Jet has a good deal of diversity on it - or at least the possibility of diversity peppered over their hard rock style.
While most songs, like the opener "Buick Electra," follow the pattern of straight-forward rock, there a few moments on Invisible Jet that prove the band is able to extend itself without significantly changing its sound. The synth-laced "Casio" barely allows the electronic intro to develop before crushing it with the powerful delivery of the band. The first song to receive radio-play "Head of Steam" could probably have been recorded cleanly with acoustic guitars, yet Shea and guitarist Jeff Iwanicki make certain to not let up their relentless distorted guitar sound. The closest the band comes to losing their rock sound is on the excellent closer "Never Stop," yet they still manage to grasp onto a brooding intensity. Because these distorted guitars are such a staple of Invisible Jet, the moments that allow the band to stray from their formula are even more powerful than if they would have had more presence. Despite Shea's venture into lighter music, or perhaps directly because of it, one can't help but notice the lack of noise-experimentation, probably due to the album being released on the label of Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, Ecstatic Peace. However, Shea has admitted to getting this "out of [his] system" after years of noise-rock. He confessed to the Boston Phoenix, "We were striving to make unusual sounds all the time at every point in every song, almost to the point of it being tedious. We tried so hard to be so unconventional that I don’t feel that urge to break new ground all the time anymore. Now I can just relax and try to write songs that are compelling on their own level and not try to be sonically shooting for something groundbreaking." This relaxation is certainly evident in Shea's J. Mascis-like, bored delivery on most of the tracks, highlighting that poppy and melodic vocals don't necessarily have to be belted out. Lyrically, Shea's writings range from cryptic to acerbically honest, like the ex-husband anthem "Take My Life."
Yet, what remains most memorable about Invisible Jet is not the lyrical content or the few lush harmonies. Rather, it is the powerful guitars, driving bass, and purposeful drumming of the group, recreating an early 90's sound that sounds as refreshing as is it familiar. From the Corgan-era guitar harmonies on "Warshed Out" to the dark cadences of "Captain," Black Helicopter are able to give 90's rock as classic a feel as that of the 70's. Invisible Jet may sound as if it's a bit out of place in today's indie rock market, but that's certainly not a shortcoming.
