(the) Enemy UK - We'll Live and Die in These Towns

Name: (the) Enemy UK
Album: We'll Live and Die in These Towns
Year: 2008
Style: Indie, Brit-pop
Similar Bands: Oasis, The Jam, Arctic Monkeys, The Rifles, Razorlight,
"One-Word" Review: angsty-Jam-inspired-pop
Based Out Of: Coventy, England
Label: Warner Bros.

We'll Live and Die in These Towns - Tray & Front Stickers (no cover)

We'll Live and Die in These Towns - Back & CD

We'll Live and Die in These Towns (2008)

1. Aggro 3:26
2. Away FromHere 3:03
3. Pressure 3:19
4. Had Enough 2:39
5. We'll Live and Die in These Towns 3:55
6. You're Not Alone 3:44
7. It's Not OK 3:36
8. Technodanceaphobic 2:34
9. 40 Days and 40 Nights 3:37
10. This Song 4:26
11. Happy Birthday Jane 3:01
12. Five Years (bonus track) 4:31
13. Fear Killed the Youth of Our Nation (bonus track) 3:31

Album Rating (1-10): 9.0

Members & Other Bands:
Liam Watts - Drums
Andy Hopkins - Bass
Tom Clarke - Vox, Guitar, Keys, Strings
Matt Terry - Producer
John Davis - Mastering
James Dowdall - A&R
Owen Morris - Producer
Rose Noone - A&R

Unknown-ness: I’ve never heard of them. And from the minimal packaging, I can't say much. This is a cast off CD. All I know is that they are British & have a bunch of accolades from Brit music mags. I'm guessing they are poised to be an arena rock band, just don't know if its gonna be a fun band like Maximo Park or the Futureheads, or a lame duck like Snow Patrol or Coldplay.

Album Review: “Aggro” is a song that I actually have heard before, at least on Guitar Hero. It is a stomp punk number with a definite whiny brit-pop singing style and sense.
“Away From Here” is a driving brit pop song where the lyrics are more spoken than sung in a slightly aggressive fashion. This reminds me of the Rifles, even if this band came before them. This song just asks to be echoed throughout a football arena.
“Pressure” has a fun, bouncy bass line to begin with; slightly dark, and then brit pop wailing guitars are laid over top. The singing style is not unlike The Jam, it’s just a different voice; not quite as pleasant.
“Had Enough” had the vocal rhythm of My Sharona, but that is masked below continuous guitars. The harmonized chorus of the title is quite nice.
“We'll Live and Die in These Towns” begins with a sullen horn section, as if in tribute to the fallen. The vocals are much closer to the Jam here. They are very melodic and continuous over the uplifting music. It reminds me of a slower “Going Underground.”
“You're Not Alone” builds right from the beginning. It is slowly sung, but when it reaches the bridge, it becomes a fun bouncy anthemic pop song.
“It's Not OK” is nasally brit-pop-punk. There is a façade of anger in the vocals, but it just comes off as being whiny, rather than justified. The chorus is driving and a fun, more energetic reprise of the verse melody.

“Technodanceaphobic” is a bouncy, angsty song that is more for a mosh pit than a dance floor. Do people still call them “mosh pits?” It has the familiar Franz Ferdinand dance-drum track, and a three note bass line.
“40 Days and 40 Nights” features a lot of the start stop strumming guitars, a fun, rapid bass line and a steady drum beat. Nothing too unique, here; it’s just another brit pop song inspired by the post punk, low profile Jam-style bands.
“This Song” feels like a traditional, camp fire acoustic song. There is a message behind this song, trying to relate to the mass public in a very generic fashion. This too has a very anthemic quality to it. The vocals are spoken almost smoothly and kind of remind me of the Lightning Seeds a little bit.
“Happy Birthday Jane” is a light ballady song about making some girl, Jane feel better about her life. The birthday seems consequential. On the normal album, this is, apparenly the ending track, and it does nicely as such.
“Five Years” is the first of two bonus tracks. And it is a straight forward cover of Bowie.
“Fear Killed the Youth of Our Nation” is also a bonus track. It is an angular dance brit-pop song. The energy in the vocals is nasally, but angsty. There is a back and forth Blur quality to this final track.

Stand Out Track: We'll Live and Die in These Towns

Links:
Myspace
Wikipedia
Allmusic
Enemy UK site
Enemy site
Fan Blog