You wouldn't think the hardest-rockin' thing on six legs to come straight outta LA at the moment would be a band originally from St.Louis featuring three brothers, two of whom (Lilian and Eve) were named after their real-life grandmothers, but there you are. Rock'n'roll's an esoteric beast at the best of times.
But that particular piece of ephemera ain't the one that's gonna scoop the column inches for these noisy sods. No sirree, it's LIVING THINGS political beliefs that will separate them from the pack at least in the short term. To date, they've already been known to set fire (and allegedly urinate on) pictures of one George Dubya Bush and this reputation has already led to frontman Lilian being beaten up and shot at a recent Dallas gig.
So, with the notoriety angle already in the bag, can Living Things actually walk it like they talk it? Their Steve Albini-produced debut album "Black Skies In Broad Daylight" suggests yes, they can - at least to a degree.
I'll elaborate on that statement. Yes, Living Things undoubtedly rock like men on a mission and this debut album ensures all the elevant targets (Dubya's administration, corruption, religion, the police, US foreign policy) get a friggin' good drubbing. Sure, you may shout, any buncha moody longhairs can do this, but Living Things' obvious sincerity does help set them apart, and there's little doubt they do mean what they shout about here. Maaan.
And "Black Skies In Broad Daylight" is a no-nonsense, heart'n'gut level 40 minutes of searing rock'n'roll. It flares up straight away with "Bombs Below": a venomous Iggy-style chugger buffed up by Albini's surprisingly shiny production and Lilian's fine, gravelly vocals. The chorus screams "No solutions, just bombs below!", which has US foreigh policy sussed within seconds. You tell'em, lads!
Much of what follows is equally immediate and undeniable, whether it's a slowburning storm-bringer like "March In Daylight" (moody, chiming, uses Nirvana's patented quiet/loud dynamic); an infectiously catchy slice of churning punk-pop like the Ramones-style recent single "I Owe" or a recklessly controlled cruise like "No New Jesus", where the hi-octane abandon recalls our Antipodean cousins The Lime Spiders and THE D4.
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And therein lies the rub. Truly, "Black Skies..." doesn't put a foot wrong as such, but it's far too heavily indebted to all the hearts it's embroidered on its' leather-clad sleeve. I mean, there's nothing wrong at all with four-square stompers like "End Gospel", "Born Under The Gun" and the cocksure swagger of the self-explanatory "Standard Oil Trust", it's just that we've already blissed out to these sounds from Nirvana, AC/DC and (inevitably) The Stooges so often before that these (admittedly good) facsimilies can sometimes sound a little too pale.
Actually, at times you feel Living Things are conscious of this fact. On occasions there's a definite move to break away from the heavy-duty rifferama, such as with "New Year" and "Keep It 'Til You Fold", which are both oddly reminiscent of REM circa "Life's Rich Pageant" or on the closing "For Tomorrow We Die", which is a menacingly strung-out stalk of a thing and finds Lilian besseching "I wish the best for you" in a strangely disturbing manner. These tracks are among the best things here and suggest Living Things would like to bother sonic boundaries as well as simply bring the rock - and the social conscience - in the future. Not a bad prognosis.
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