The Living End are the first band to come to my head when I think of Australian music, so I simply had to include an album of theirs on my list. I have been listening to the group for around ten years now and 'Growing Up (Falling Down)' ranks among my favourite songs. While little known outside of Oz, The Living End are massive Down Under with a couple of their albums topping the charts. Being a huge music nerd, I enjoy listening to bands in the place they come from. Therefore I was delighted to have 'The Ending...' sounding from my earphones as I walked to the Australian Open last week, and I could hardly contain my excitement at listening to track 2 'Heatwave' during an actual Melbourne heatwave!
The Living End is a no frills band with a poppy alternative rock sound and there are no surprises on his this record. The songs are simple in structure with catchy choruses and straightforward lyrics - there are no difficult topics approached or controversial statements made here. The music is very accessible, it will rock you without inducing headbanging or moshing and it will have you singing along without prompting tears or raised fists.
Most of the songs on 'The Ending...' fit into the 'good but not great' range. 'In The Morning' is a lively opener, 'Song For The Lonely' rolls along at a cracking pace, 'For Another Day' offers a chance for lighters to be raised skywards, and there is a nice Aussie feel to 'Heatwave' and 'Ride The Wave Boy', the latter featuring an excellent guitar break.
However, there are two tracks that fall outside of the 'decent' category. Unfortunately, 'United' falls short and has to be skipped. Its chorus of "We stand alone we're divided, we stand as one we're united" is just way too predictable and the whole song is pretty annoying. But up next is the best track on the album by a long long way. 'Universe' is the finest pop-rock song I've heard in ages and could become the essential song for my entire trip. It is a fun, fast, song that will make you feel good with positive lyrics such as "give me one reason not to try, why should I be afraid". It contains an awesome guitar part that will have you pulling out an air guitar, which you'll then swap for air drums during the rocking outro. Best of all is the big chorus, don't worry about whether the lyrics make sense or not, just sing along and let it swirl around your head for the rest of the day.
'The Ending...' does not break any new ground and it is not an album you'll be desperate to tell you're friends about. But it is a record full of fun, catchy tunes and it boasts one truly brilliant song in 'Universe'.
7/10
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