Jet Lag Motel – No Vacancy
Jet Lag Motel is HOT right now – not only because of this worldwide heatwave, but they’ve also just released their debut EP, No Vacancy. Us humble Buffalonians can’t imagine what it feels like to be living in San Antonio right now, but at least you’ve got a new, feel-good summery EP to put on when you’re chilling poolside. The six songs on No Vacancy are fun slices of pop-rock, harkening back to the glory days of Third Eye Blind and Better Than Ezra with a heaping spoonful of genre luminaries like Blue October and, our city’s musical heroes, Goo Goo Dolls. Expect bright and uplifting, guitar-driven pop rock that could sit on any playlist with a ’90s-heavy lean.
Opening track “Better Place” is a perfect place to start – here, Jet Lag Motel introduce their breezy guitar riffs with organ-soaked progressions. Sassy vocals sing lyrics about infatuation for a loved one – “Thinkin’ about your smile and your lips on my face… I love you, I hope you love me too” and “Hold me for a minute and I’ll make you my wife” are as simple as a profession of love as you can get. It’s these laid-back and pure-hearted vibes that power No Vacancy and make it such easy-listening. “Better Place” gives way to the more menacing “Mexico,” which is ostensibly about doing ayahuasca (or potentially just some really good tequila). The band darkens up their sound here significantly, but it still sounds summery in that sweaty, stoned-off-your-ass in Mexico kind of way.
As you delve through the rest of No Vacancy, or maybe it’s just me, it made me yearn for the (perhaps rose-colored-glasses-tinted) more carefree existence that folks must have experienced in the late ’90s. Guitar pop just doesn’t seem to have the same gravitas anymore, at least from a Billboard top 100 standpoint anyway… But Jet Lag Motel are proof that the genre is alive and well. “Listen” might have the hookiest chorus on the album – with its catchy guitars and synth-soaked vibes, this could have been a real hit in 1998 next to Semisonic’s “Closing Time” and Fastball’s “The Way.” Speaking of Fastball, “One” could easily be another of their offerings – with a prominent organ feature and a slinky, blues-inspired guitar riff. “Never Again” is the album’s most pop-forward feature, but never loses the Jet Lag Motel swagger of its compatriots. Even ballad “London Pub” has its place.
Better Place is available now (June 5th, 2026). Check out the video for “Better Place” embedded below, or, find it on Spotify.
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This post was written by Nick Sessanna