Punk rock wrapped in cotton
The Enemy UK, formed in 2006, consists of Tom Clarke (guitar/vocals), Andy Hopkins (bass) and Liam Watts (drums). About two years old, The Enemy UK has become exceedingly popular in Great Britain with their debut album hitting number one within a week of its release. They are now making a name for themselves in the United States. They first appeared in Chicago during Lollapalooza earlier this month and have toured other big U.S. cities during the rest of the month.
They have recently released their debut album We'll live and die in these towns. This 13-track album contains all of The Enemy's singles plus two bonus tracks. The legendary David Bowie wrote one of those tracks, "Five Years," the only one not written by the band. The album also contains their first single ever released "40 Days & 40 Nights."
The Enemy is categorized as punk rock but it is an ill-fitting label. They sound like loud punk rock wrapped in cotton. It is softer and, because of that, it
loses some of its intensity and meaning. The words do not have the same impact. They should be categorized as indie rock because of their unique sound. They resemble The White Stripes more than a little.
A few of their songs sound like bad slow dance music, especially the song "Happy Birthday Jane." It evokes painful images of awkward middle-school dances. Most of their songs have great melodies, but their lyrics clash. Singing about the end of the world to a slow dance melody makes the listener more aware of the music than the meaning.
Put all together, the album is good, but it lacks substance. One good song is "Technodanceaphobic." The refrains were not very original but it has a catchy tune. Most of the songs are fast and loud, but there are those that are slow and long. The lyrics are repeated over again until the total amount of new lyrics in one four-minute song is reduced to four or five lines. The band itself is great, but with original lyrics and better melodies, they could be amazing.
They have recently released their debut album We'll live and die in these towns. This 13-track album contains all of The Enemy's singles plus two bonus tracks. The legendary David Bowie wrote one of those tracks, "Five Years," the only one not written by the band. The album also contains their first single ever released "40 Days & 40 Nights."
The Enemy is categorized as punk rock but it is an ill-fitting label. They sound like loud punk rock wrapped in cotton. It is softer and, because of that, it
A few of their songs sound like bad slow dance music, especially the song "Happy Birthday Jane." It evokes painful images of awkward middle-school dances. Most of their songs have great melodies, but their lyrics clash. Singing about the end of the world to a slow dance melody makes the listener more aware of the music than the meaning.
Put all together, the album is good, but it lacks substance. One good song is "Technodanceaphobic." The refrains were not very original but it has a catchy tune. Most of the songs are fast and loud, but there are those that are slow and long. The lyrics are repeated over again until the total amount of new lyrics in one four-minute song is reduced to four or five lines. The band itself is great, but with original lyrics and better melodies, they could be amazing.
Tags & Keywords : The Enemy, punk rock, UK
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