Get Born

About

Jet had only been together for two years when they released their 2003 debut album. The Melbourne quartet wasn’t completely untested: They had paused the LA recording sessions for <i>Get Born</i> to support The Rolling Stones on an Australian tour that year. But even that foreshadowing run of arena shows wouldn’t quite prepare Jet for the career-making impact of the album’s lead single. Borrowing its bustling bassline from The Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love”—more so than the oft-cited “Lust for Life” by Iggy Pop—“Are You Gonna Be My Girl” instantly proved the durability of rock ’n’ roll in the new millennium. Topped with rhythm guitarist Nic Cester’s raw, barking vocals, it was the perfect calling card for the band’s brazen catchiness. In addition to its chart domination overseas, the track eventually topped the Hottest 100 in Australia. The follow-up single “Rollover D.J.” showed that the tune’s rat-a-tat hooks and scrappy garage verve were no fluke, while “Get What You Need” packed in more of the band’s down-to-earth lyrics about life in their twenties. Jet also found subtle ways to salute their heroes, from the Stones-y strut of “Get Me Outta Here” to You Am I guitarist Davey Lane’s cameo on “Lazy Gun.” But the band’s highest-charting single at home was actually “Look What You’ve Done,” a touching piano number that saw bassist Mark Wilson moonlighting on the ivories. Several other ballads snuck in between the rockers, including the largely acoustic “Move On” and the soul-searching closer “Timothy.” By the time the dust had settled, <i>Get Born</i> had sold 4 million copies. That made for a tough act to follow, but its sheer immediacy has stood the test of time, and Jet returned from hiatus in 2023 to perform the album in its entirety.

via Apple Music