Young Livers- Of Misery And Toil
released April 6, 2010 on No Idea Records
The Young Livers are a band from Gainesville, FL and this is their second full-length on No Idea Records. The press release was all over the place in regards to influences but some bands mentioned were Drive Like Jehu, Big Business, Fugazi and Baroness. Interesting mix of influences. Track 1 starts this album off with a bang and to my ears, it sounds a lot like Bad Religion mated with an 80s metal band and this is the result. Fast and furious. Track 2 continues the same level of intensity, reminding me of a sped-up Ramones track. Track 4 has a sound reminiscent of Fugazi in some ways. Basically, it’s hard to describe this sound without name-dropping because it’s so fresh in many ways. They have a way with their instruments and evoking the best parts of the genres that they seem to cover (that “epic” feel associated with 80s metal and the speed/intensity of punk). Track 5 continues to showcase their musical competency, especially with the timing of the drums, which changes up at 1:34, causing my head to bob back and forth to each beat and the song ends with a flourish. Track 6 gets my approval for quite possibly the best track, taking the influences and styles mentioned in previous tracks and just turning that fucker up to 11. Their use of breaks and flourishes just gives each track that “epic” feel as described earlier. Track 9 is the best example of punk in their influences, sounding like they found a way to one-up Bad Religion with competent instrumentation. The press release also mentions Thin Lizzy and yes, there is some of that sound in this. Overall, quite possibly the most fun you’ll have all year. No Idea’s been cranking out some really good stuff as of late and like the album from No Friends, this is another epic release that you should get your grubby hands on. Equal parts metal, punk, hardcore and just plain fucking awesomness!
FCC: None
Try: ALL! But I really enjoyed *5*, *6*, *8* , *9*
5/5