The Living End [Roll On] Well this now makes 4 non Classical discs in my Blog in a row!, this must be a first, i have 'complained' that my musical listening is too Classical heavy [and therefore my Blog is too Classical heavy], my collection of discs is roughly 1600 now, and three quartets of them [75%] are Classical discs, i hope to redress the balance in the next 10 years, 50 / 50 would be an ideal mix of genres.
I first heard The Living End on a freebie disc that comes with a Rock magazine, they played track 7 'Dirty Man' on there, so i just had to check out this album, and i wasn't disappointed, the booklet is truly excellent, and not just the front cover, but throughout the whole booklet, nicely shot photos in squares with lines and texts / lyrics, well thought out and visually appealing [photos by Danny Clinch].
The Living End are an Australian Heavy Rock band, formed in 1994, they sound somewhat like the Clash, or maybe the Jam, or a Punky version of Rush, these three guys don't sound Australian at all, there's almost a London Cockney accent to them, their main sound is one of loud drum beats, with riffy guitars, nicely recorded sharp and clear, best listened to loud, there's also a certain Punk sneer to them, they also cite Rockabilly as an influence.
It took a little time to get into this disc today, The Living End can sound like 'simpletons' at times, it's just good solid Rock music, the lyrics aren't anything clever, their three piece sound means it's a basic Rock unit, there's no fourth member on keys or rhythm guitar, and there's no real melodic surprises, their forte isn't in the 'tunes', but in the delivery, the enthusiasm and gear changes, the cleverness of the beat.
1 Roll On - 1 2 3 4!, screams one of the band members to get things underway, the spirit of what these guys are all about.
3 Riot On Broadway - after a short intro, the guitars come in with a chugging riff [0:14], a really thrilling moment.
7 Dirty Man - the opening riff reminds me of a faster version of the Sex Pistols Pretty Vacant riff.
8 Blood On Your Hands - has a really nice stuttering beginning, like it's trying to make its mind up about how to get going, some very nice atmospheric drumming by Travis Demsey, a very reggae-ish beat in the verses.
9 Revolution Regained - again after an intro, a nice fast bubbling riff on the guitar [0:12].
11 Read About It - the chorus has a nice sweep to it, a heightening of lyricism.
12 Killing The Right - a nice lovely riff at the beginning on the guitar, dot dot dot dash dash, dot dot dot dash dash etc, Morse Code for the numeral 3, are they introducing themselves as a trio?.
13 Astoria Paranoia - a lovely fast bit of rhythm guitar riffing kicks in after the intro [0:36], and the lead guitar soars nicely above it.
On this listen i liked tracks 1, 3, 7-9 & 11-13, with no real stand out track, so here's a short synopsis of these favourite tracks,
3 Riot On Broadway - after a short intro, the guitars come in with a chugging riff [0:14], a really thrilling moment.
7 Dirty Man - the opening riff reminds me of a faster version of the Sex Pistols Pretty Vacant riff.
8 Blood On Your Hands - has a really nice stuttering beginning, like it's trying to make its mind up about how to get going, some very nice atmospheric drumming by Travis Demsey, a very reggae-ish beat in the verses.
9 Revolution Regained - again after an intro, a nice fast bubbling riff on the guitar [0:12].
11 Read About It - the chorus has a nice sweep to it, a heightening of lyricism.
12 Killing The Right - a nice lovely riff at the beginning on the guitar, dot dot dot dash dash, dot dot dot dash dash etc, Morse Code for the numeral 3, are they introducing themselves as a trio?.
13 Astoria Paranoia - a lovely fast bit of rhythm guitar riffing kicks in after the intro [0:36], and the lead guitar soars nicely above it.
Here's The Living End playing Dirty Man live on YouTube.
