Living With Lions
Out Now
Despite being a predominantly pop-punk outfit, Living With Lions’ newest album Holy S*** comes across as a brilliant post-hardcore record.
It’s the band’s third effort, the first with new members Stu Ross (vocals) and Bill Crook (bassist). It shows a welcome level of maturity and ambition to make for a great album.
With a sound almost akin to bands like Polar Bear Club, the album is consistent throughout, relying on soaring vocals and catchy riffs to draw the listener in at every opportunity.
Often power chord-driven, it isn’t necessarily a mystery why Living With Lions are one of the most exciting bands in the pop-punk genre. However, the production and added complexity make this so much more than your run-of-the-mill pop-punk.
In Your Light, a great ballad, could draw comparisons to Fighstar, and the album as a whole suggests success on a similar level.
If one criticism was to be levied at Holy S***, it would be that it can, at times, feel almost one-dimensional.
It’s not that its style isn’t well-crafted (it’s a phenomenal record), but it doesn’t really deviate from the unrelenting punk-rock/post-hardcore style.
However, with songs like Wake Up and Regret Song, no-one can complain that the album lacks a heart and energy missing from a lot of contemporary pop-punk.
Stu Ross manages to settle into the band well, complement their sound without drastically altering it for the worse.
This should be the start of truly great things for Living With Lions, who look set to take the scene by storm with this album.
Female First - Alistair McGeorge