Touch and Go – 03/20/07
There comes a time in any music fan's life where he or she inadvertently runs across an album that makes him or her question exactly why the hell they hadn't found this artist sooner. For me, this moment came with the leak of Ted Leo's “Living with the Living” back in February.
It seems to me that Ted Leo could have fit in anywhere in the history of punk music. “Living with the Living”, his latest release, covers the entire spectrum of Ted's abilities as both a singer and a songwriter. From the melodic (“A Bottle of Buckie”) to the frenetic (“Bomb. Repeat. Bomb”) to the overtly political (take your pick of track), “Living with the Living” flows as one, organic work. Leo's skills show: There isn't a bad track to be found anywhere on this album.
This album is also notable for the controversy surrounding its early leak. The album was quickly pulled by most public and private Bit-torrent tracker sites after a request sent by the band's management. However the request also contained language which could be construed as permitting the album to be uploaded after the retail release date (insinuating that while the band didn't appreciate the early leak, that they do, in fact, support the trading of their material to new listeners.)
Whether or not you download the material or purchase it on 3/20, the fact stands that Ted Leo's “Living with the Living” is an early candidate for album of the year. Whether you be an old Ted Leo fan, or someone who has never even heard of him before, this album has something for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment