KILLER DILLERS: The Living End could be manna for Rocket from the Crypt fans. |
A tight little Australian trio who began life as a rockabilly group but now play high-octane pop punk, the Living End might be the perfect act for Rocket from the Crypt fans bumming over that band’s break-up late last year. Like such RFTC classics as Scream, Dracula, Scream!, State of Emergency features big ’50s-pop-inspired melodies coated in slashing guitar fuzz and precise vocal harmonies; the most memorable tunes offer vinegary horn arrangements that supply a witty twist of chorus-line bombast. Other cuts highlight the Living End’s growing sophistication rather than their breakneck intensity: “Order of the Day” has a twangy spaghetti-Western riff, and “No Way Out” rides a mellow dream-pop groove before exploding into a bright glam-rock chorus. So far, the band have toiled at RFTC’s modest commercial level, though that might change soon: they spent July on the road with the Warped Tour, and Emergency is their first album for Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong’s Adeline Records. In a pinch, they could always give “Wake Up” a big push here in the States — it sounds a little bit like the Killers.
THE LIVING END + LASHES + DENTS | Axis, 13 Lansdowne St, Boston | August 5 | 617.228.6000
