New Jersey's TED LEO AND THE PHARMACISTS are back after a two year break with their fourth album and Matador debut, "The Brutalist Bricks" (released 12 April, 2010). This extraordinarily assured wide-ranging album explores new ground for Ted, showcasing his singer-songwriter side while remaining emotionally and energetically true to his punk roots. From the thrilling opener and video track "The Mighty Sparrow" to the apocalyptic "Last Days", startling influences reveal themselves. Sure, hardcore punk vibes are there, as is acoustically driven power-pop - but from ELVIS COSTELLO to BILLY BRAGG, there’s a softer, at times more introspective side at work, with one entirely acoustic number. In one song, the ghost of Josh Homme seems to hover momentarily. From start to finish, Ted's inventive, sparkling songwriting and his tightly wound, explosively chop worthy band keep the momentum ferocious and fascinating.
Ted Leo’s story began at the dilapidated garages and all-ages clubs of the East Coast post-hardcore scene of the late 80s. That’s where the chronicle of our era’s ever-humble valedictorian, Ted Leo, really gets interesting, anyway. It was here in bands CITIZEN'S ARREST and ANIMAL CRACKERS (and later as the main song writer in CHISEL) that Ted developed a sharpened political prowess, an assiduous commitment to his Gibson ES-335, an ear for melody, and charisma contagious enough to be considered chemical weaponry. A mod-punk savant in an age where punk (like practically everything intangible we’ve ever expressed interest in) has been replaced by product.
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The most indelible stamp Ted leaves on his work is an incitement to his fans to take themselves seriously, never compromise their ideals and, essentially, make a difference in theirs and the lives of those around them. It’s a message of compassion not unlike that of one of Ted’s denim-clad, working-class-empowering forebears. TED LEO AND THE PHARMACISTS are rebels without a pause.
The band will be touring the UK this spring/summer.
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