“Living with the Living”
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
Touch and Go Records
4 Paws Out Of 5
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists’ fifth full-length album, “Living with the Living,” is another solid addition to the musicians’ repertoire. It’s full of smart political manifestos in the group’s signature style of updated, melody-driven East Coast punk.
Opening with “Fourth World War,” a one-minute vignette of static-filled foreign newscasts played over frantic drumbeats, the album segues into the crunchy, fast-forwarded bluegrass melody and egalitarian handclapping of the second track and first actual song, “The Songs of Cain.” In the rousing style typical of Ted Leo albums, he concludes this introduction by screaming an audience-directed “Hey!”
Another track, “Bomb. Repeat. Bomb.,” again opens with static war recordings, with Leo’s spoken ferocity sometimes evoking the awkwardness of stand-up poetry rather than the galvanization of a passionate political tirade. Yet proceeding track “La Costa Brava” succeeds where “Bomb. Repeat. Bomb.” fails. Featuring extensive, gently delivered lyrics, it is an evenly-paced song embellished with quiet rumblings of intricate guitar melodies. It rouses because, like “The Songs of Cain,” it seems to invite participation.
“The Lost Brigade” and “The World Stops Turning” further showcase Leo’s songwriting talent. Both tracks are driven by the never-absent lead guitar churning and adding flourishes to the ever-changing central melodies.
While Leo’s songwriting talent approaches bands like Big Star and his lyricism rivals such musicians as Billy Bragg (especially in terms of political discontent and progressivism), the louder and more frantic quality of his songs showcases Leo’s punk background in the band Chisel.
The message throughout the album is to actively respond to the fiery lead guitar, political aplomb, and intelligent lyricism of the songs.
Like Bruce Springsteen, Leo’s music maintains a distinct regionalism while appealing to listeners everywhere, yet his emphasis on crafting songs from painstakingly developed melodies explains why Leo may never reach widespread fame. It is the inventiveness and complexity of Leo’s songwriting that differentiates him from his more popular contemporaries, despite his authentic rock ‘n’ roll sound.
With “Living with the Living,” Leo once again proves that music doesn’t need to be genre-pushing or experimental to be very, very good.