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The Enemy
The Enemy hail from Coventry, there hasn't been a decent band to hail from Coventry in such a long time, i'd forgotten what such a band might sound like. The Enemy aren't two-tone then? Well, no, they're not. They are a typical in some respects modern alternative rock band. They have touches of acoustic, touches of keyboards. They don't try to self-conciously sound modern aka The Klaxxons and don't try to rip off Arctic Monkeys aka The View. Without inventing the wheel then, what do they offer? Well, lyrically they tell tales of true life without falling down the Mike Skinner/Arctic Monkeys route, which has been done to death anyway lately. There's more a sense of quiet, repressed anger aka early Paul Weller. Now these guys are in a band, they get to vent some of this anger. You can throw Ordinary Boys at them and it will stick. A whiff of Kaisier Chiefs. I don't think The Enemy have really found their sound yet, because a few songs hint at something so much greater than what they've delivered so far. Yes, the Richard and Judy line in 'Away From Here' is clumsy and if they could have fitted in anything else, they probably should have done. Otherwise, top tune though, you know? It has that anger there rather than the mere Oasis-style posturing of other new bands, aka Kasabian. Coventry's 'The Enemy' have gone for broke with this, their second LP. Stylistically it encompasses The Beatles, Oasis, Embrace, The Jam, Kasabian. All those sort of heavy-footed, lumbering beasts. There's also a whiff of The Verve and all these kind of ingredients together shouldn't work at all of course. Yet, 'Nation Of Checkout Girls', unoriginal as it might be, really does hit the spot in a 'The Jam' kind of way. Nothing to dislike here, lots of melody and energy. Excellent. The opening 'Elephant Song' has a massive sound, far more epic in nature than anything from the lads debut, a sure sign they've progressed forwards. 'No Time For Tears' is the first big departure from 'The Enemy' of old however, it sounds very AOR 80s rock yet in a good way - anthemic chorus, huge drums, synths and a twiddly guitar part drenched in echo. It's all rather as if you're listening in a stadium, not just your living room sat on your favourite chair scratching your ass. Speaking of anybodies ass, '51st State' has a whiff of Happy Mondays about it intially, yet half-way through some spiky guitar cuts straight through you. The Enemy may not be the best band in the world, the singer could do with a few lessons yet I admire the effort they've put into 'Music For The People' and the ambition they've obviously got in them.
The Enemy
Albums
We'll Live And Die In These Towns 7½ ( 2007 )
Aggro / Away From Here / Pressure / Had Enough / We'll Live And Die In These Towns / You're Not Alone / It's Not OK / Technodanceaphobic / 40 Days And 40 Nights / This Song / Happy Birthday Jane
Did anyone see Kasabian at Live Earth? How embarrassing was that? They'll sing-a-long mate when you give them something worth singing along with, not just you howling out of tune waving your arms in the air. I can see The Enemy mellowing from this debut, but that may not be a bad thing. The acoustically tinged title track is pretty mellow for example and stands out because of it. 'Away From Here' is catchy, yes, and 'You're Not Alone' hints at The Enemy being able to go down the epic, windswept stadium route, should they choose. There's a lot of promise here then, some actual acheivment but they need to hone their songwriting skills beyond the immediate surroundings they've found themselves in. They need to find a distinctive sound beyond the Paul Wellerisms that are all over this record. I suspect those same Wellerisms have come via Oasis rather than The Jam, these guys were probably still in nappies when The Jam last strutted the stage, after all. That makes me suddenly feel incredibly old. Still, whilst I may be old I can be contented with the fact i'm not in Kasabian.
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Sloey-Suspect
Like the review, summed up how i feel about The Enemy. Highlight is This Song, shows they've more about them than most of today's bands. A decent debut album, let's hope they get a chance to mature. Think that's the big problem with today's bands, the media are just looking for the next big thing every fucking week, and if the debut isn't popular enough bands are just thrown on the scrapheap.
Music For The People 7½ ( 2009 )
Elephant Song / No Time For Tears / 51st State / Sing When You're In Love / Last Goodbye / Nation Of Checkout Girls / Be Somebody / Don't Break The Red Tape / Keep Losing / Silver Spoon
'Sing When You're In Love' could be a crossover pop hit, 'Last Goodbye' goes all acoustic intelligence on us before The Verve style strings come in and 'Nation Of Checkout Girls' completes a very good first half. We continue with quality, yet not quite as good as before. 'Don't Break The Red Tape' sounds like a Jam b-side, 'Keep Losin' is a song too far and the closing 'Silver Spoon' goes all out for the Beatles/Oasis/Kasabian brigade, a thumping attempted epic with crap vocals. Overall though, whatever the indie-cool brigade at NME might tell you, 'The Enemy' have made a quality album here. It won't change your life yet this easily digestible indie-rock album should in theory win many admirers.
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this page last updated 26/02/08
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