Living With Lions - Make Your Mark
Record Label: Black Box Recordings
Release Date: June 17, 2008
These days the "pussification" of pop punk is becoming quite common and it's even leading a bunch of pop punk fans to believe the genre is stuck into a downward spiral. I won't name names, you know exactly what I'm talking about: the bands that sport tight pants, girlish haircuts, neon colours and v-necks while playing polished yet catchy tunes about girls and having a good time. Despite this new trend though, I'd like to say the genre isn't a total lost cause, at least not when bands like Vancouver quintet Living With Lions are still making music.
The band formed just for the fun of it, they moved into a house that became so famous for parties and a good time that it was coined Dude Manor. The guys jammed in the basement and before long they had enough songs so they decided to call themselves Living With Lions and make it official. After touring Canada and the American west coast alongside fellow Vancouver-ites Daggermouth, as well as releasing an EP that shares the same name of the band's birth place, the quintet's debut full length Make Your Mark was finally released this past summer.
"She's A Hack" starts the record off with crunchy guitars and solid drumming before vocalist Matt Postal's overly gruff voice kicks in, proving to be a great opener and perfect for the pit. The third track, "A Bottle of Charades," is probably the album's gem though. One of my biggest problems with pop punk is that it's often too over-produced, but that isn't the case with any of the tunes off Make Your Mark. "A Bottle of Charades" is raw, but it never loses its pop sensibilities, plus the chorus is so infectious you'll be humming it for days on end. "My Dilemma" starts off as a fist-pumping track, but near the end, vocal harmonies and the addition of a piano slow it down just a tad, but it still never loses its frenzied energy. The album finishes off with a similar track titled "Dude Manor" and ends with a short and simple instrumental track simply called "Outro", proving the band can finish off an album just as well as they can kick one off.
Living With Lions aren't rewriting the genre, but their take on it is a lot more refreshing that a bunch of the bands you'll see labeled as pop punk today. Trust me, with just one listen you'll realize pop punk isn't in as much of a downward spiral as some might like to believe. You just have to look a little harder to find the good stuff.
Not bad....thats only because I think this band is capable of releasing better stuff in the future. The talent and skills are there, I just want to see them go for more.
i heard about these guys a week ago and have been listening non stop. this album and the wonder years wont be pathetic forever have really done it for me this year. ive been a pop punk fan since forever and this band knows how to keep it true.
haha! "pussification"That explanation of the scene will come in handy while I review the perfection that is Piebald's We're The Only Friends We Have. I just picked up Living With Lions and I love. Really refreshing stuff.
Browse Reviews
Write a Review
Alphabetized Listing
Popular Reviews
Best New Music
View Artist Profile
View News Articles
Stream the Music
Buy the Album or MP3s
View Profile Picture
View Blog
View Signature
Posts: 10,837
Follow This Review
More Reviews By This Author