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A blend of the Stray Cats' rockabilly spunk with squalls of
Green Day skirmishes is what you can expect from the fourth
full length album by Melbourne, Australia's punk rockers The Living
End. State Of Emergency, produced by Nick Launay
(INXS, Silverchair, Midnight Oil) is the band's
follow up to their 2003 album Modern Artillery. The album brims
with gourmet melodic rock savor, swags of pop-punk thumps, and salvos
of guitar pyrotechnics. The album is a guilty pleasure in that The
Living End's brand of melodic punk rock maneuvers are so enjoyable
that you feel guilty about it.
The album opens with the rockabilly crush "'Til The End,"
designed with pouncing drum rolls and embracing guitar hooks. Like
a rollercoaster ride that feels like it is going to spin out of control,
the band's melodic drills take on momentum and explode into huge balls
of sonic frills. "No Way Out" has an anthem-esque tone that
fires up and motivates activism and progression. "What's On Your
Radio" uses guitarist and lead singer Chris Cheney's zeal
for lightning blasted guitar cuts to their potential while his buffed
vocals give a refined sheen to "Wake Up." The rhythmic bolts
of drummer Andy Strachan and upright bass player Scott Owen
activates "Nothing Lasts Forever" with attractive rumbles
as Cheney's tailored vocal sets that keep the movements jamming.
"We Want More" exudes vitriolic pop-punk reflexes that
heighten the piece with energetic sensations reminiscent of The
Clash and the more contemporary The F-Ups. The waving rhythm
spools on the title track "State Of Emergency" are fitted
by soft rock melodic cords and add a gloss to the spunky, excitable
guitar twirls. The album concludes with "Into The Red,"
signing off with a melodic trance of consonant guitar and rhythmic
movements that gel smoothly while packing a whole lot of vitality.
These songs are more tamed and polished then anything The Living
End have ever released previously. In response to their new polished
set of punk rock effluxes, The Living End have received three ARIA
Awards and recently came off a stunt on the Vans Warped Tour this
past July. Still going strong, The Living End will be playing club
dates across America and Canada in the coming months.
-Susan Frances
Track listing:
1. 'Til The End
2. Long Live The Weekend
3. No Way Out
4. We Want More
5. Wake Up
6. What's On Your Radio
7. Nothing Lasts Forever
8. One Step Behind
9. Reborn
10. Order Of The Day
11. Nowhere Town
12. State Of Emergency
13 Black Cat
14. Into The Red
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