In 1962, the Rolling Stones changed the face of rock music when they exploded into America with the onslaught of the British Invasion. Swaggering front man Mick Jagger and rhythm-man guitarist Keith Richards took on the stage with their rhythm and blues steady sentiment which functioned as the antithesis of the clean-cut Beatles image of pop music at the time.

Forty years later, Aussie rockers Jet became the headliners for rock n’ roll revival in America, breaking into the scene synchronously with The Hives and The White Stripes. The defining difference is that their debut album Get Born led them to a steep rise to success and a much coveted spot opening for the Rolling Stones themselves.

The Stones took their name from a Muddy Waters song “Rollin’ Stone.” Jet took their name from a song off the Wings’ 1973 album Band on the Run. Like many bands in their time, the Stones covered tons of rhythm and blues songs they listened to in their youth. Not unlike this tradition, the members of Jet have taken elements of ‘60s and ‘70s music they grew up on and they’ve reshaped them in a modern, rock-worthy structure.

But bottom line, it’s damn hard to call out for a revival without some credible borrowing. And it’s doubly difficult to modernize classic rock while making it relevant in the musical melting pot of today, as it were. The boys of Jet have (re)mastered the formula and they’ve managed to fit it all together without sounding – what’s the right word here – derivative. After all, it was hard to get bored with Get Born, a perfect amalgam of everything we loved about AC/DC, The Beatles, and the Rolling Stones. With popular demand for live shows, the band toured on their debut album for three years straight.

Jet frontman Nic Cester recounted the band’s first tour, and getting to meet one of the group’s musical predecessors, Mick Jagger and Co. “When you meet a bunch of guys like the Stones who have been doing what they’re doing for 40 years now you’ve got nothing to prove anymore. They know they’re one of the greatest bands in the world. What have you got left to do than smile at the world?”

At this rate, the boys of Jet could very well be on their way to becoming heir to such a musical throne. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t pressure to outdo themselves, let alone the step up to the level of the gods of music. As with any sophomore effort, Cester admitted the success of their first hit album was hard to top. “The four of us put so much pressure on ourselves,” he said. “We wanted to write great songs that we thought were great and that we made an album better than the first one. Fortunately for us we had an album full of fucking hits, so we’d like to continue with that same energy.”

And hits they were. From chart-topper “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” to “Cold Hard Bitch,” Jet’s songs are all tightly-packed and full of so many crunchy riffs that they could send your heart back to the ‘70s, where you hippies belong. Fortunately for Jet, their new single “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is,” showcases the same damn good songwriting that set crowds on fire in the first place.

What you might not know about Jet is that the members, originating in Melbourne, Australia, were all factory workers that got together and started performing as a pub act. Their rise to success took place in what seems a matter of weeks. But Nic expressed a different sentiment. “For us it certainly didn’t feel like everything was overnight. We wanted to get the fuck out of where we were at that point. When you’re in the eye of the storm, even if it’s a storm it moves along at a snail’s pace.”

When we spoke to Cester, however, the band had just finished playing a concert in Rome in an ancient amphitheater packed with 15,000 people. The event was televised throughout Italy, a long way from a pub.

And though today’s scope of music can’t yet lead Jet to the title of “the greatest band in rock n’ roll” as the Rolling Stones were originally introduced onstage, it’s quite clear that Jet has little left to prove.