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 Caught in the Carousel "There will be music despite everything"
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Common Enemy
Living the Dream
Overdose on Records
Forget about stepping onto the treadmill. No need to go to your next spin class. Wanna get your heart racing? Then look no further than Reading, PA based Common Enemy's latest blistering attack, Living The Dream. None of the 20 warp speed songs...er, assaults, clocks in over 2 minutes and many seconds. However, from the opener, "Still Having Fun" to "Living the Dream," and into the closing "Standing in Line," we are treated to the idea that hardcore punk is alive and well. Bandmates Gary Critical - vocals, Greg Disorder - bass, backing vocals, Justin Enemy - guitar, backing vocals and Tank - drums, take us through subjects about beer bongs, skateboarding, and their personal politics. Oddly, there is some degree of subtlety in most all of the tracks. There are almost imperceptible tempo changes and tight stop-starts delivered full on via violently fast razor-like guitars and machine gun drumming. All the while, Critical screams their passions in an almost haunted way. This is evident on the excellent track "My Board Rules," when he rants: "When life's got me stressed out/One thing I need to do/My board rules/Cause when I hit the concrete? I feel like I'm possessed." This record is not for everyone, however, for those that miss those heady times of the second wave of American Hardcore, Living The Dream will take you back to days of Minor Threat, The Bad Brains, Black Flag, MDC and DOA. VIVA HARDCORE!
3/5 OI's
Oi! Oi! Oi!
—Peter Hamm
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