(Dew Process/Universal)

Prisoner of society changes his ways

After a dozen or so years defining and refining their blend of rock, punk and rockabilly, The Living End decided to tweak their sound even more for this fifth album. To that end, they decamped to Hoboken, home of baseball – and of veteran producer John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth, The Hold Steady) - and revamped their approach. One clear example of that is Make The Call, placed smack in the middle of these ten cuts. Heftier and more sinewy than you’d expect from these guys, it actually has the hallmarks of a classic ‘70s solid rocker. But you don’t have to wait for that to know change is in the air for this band – it’s there in the very first track, How Do We Know, also the first track written for this album. Anybody remember the bombast of ‘80s big noise Boom Crash Opera? It has that kind of epic thrust (only better). More typical of this band’s older style are stompers like Raise The Alarm and 21st Century (complete with their political undercurrents). In effect, Chris Cheney & Co found a very potent way to sharpen up and reposition their anthemic sound. Not bad for a bunch who almost called it quits after the last album. 

***½

BILL HOLDSWORTH

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