 | Tracklist:
1. Sally
2. Strange Behaviour
3. Living Undesigned
4. Exology
5. Best Of Tomorrow
6. My Own
7. Breathe A Dime
8. Cold War
9. Arrest Room
10. Two Dogs
Release Date: 05/13/2011 | |
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On 1 Lists
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| Summary: An excellent follow up full of infectious and unconventional pop rock. |
1 of 1 thought this review was well written
Sophomore albums are always the hardest records to make, with many, many artists failing to live up to their debuts. The lead up to the recording of Trial Kennedy’s sophomore release ‘Living Undesigned’ almost killed the band. In the three years since their debut, Trial Kennedy has lost their record label and a bassist, dealt with heart surgery on their lead singer and nearly broken up on countless occasions, culminating in the band disappearing off the face of the earth. Upon their re-emergence, what has resulted is the very honest, emotional rock album that is ‘Living Undesigned.’ Gone is the upbeat pop from ‘New Manic Art,’ replaced by Trial Kennedy at their darkest and most sincere. Despite the dramatic change in tone, ‘Living Undesigned’ is still inherently catchy, one just has to dig a little deeper to find the hooks.
Opening jaunt ‘Sally’ sees Trial Kennedy doing what they do best – writing crisp and unconventional rock songs with hooks galore, however the darker tone is noticeable from the outset. Despite this, Trial Kennedy remain as catchy as ever, drawing from bands such as Birds of Tokyo and Anberlin before putting their own zest into the mix. First single ‘Best of Tomorrow’ is a perfect example of this, while lacking the immediacy of the band’s earlier hits (see ‘Knife Light’ or ‘Colour Day Tours’) it is no less catchy. The band really hits their stride on ‘Breath a Dime,’ one of the more upbeat numbers full of delay soaked guitar licks and an equally impressive chorus.
Tim Morrison’s unique vocal chords are again the band’s strong point, providing plenty of impressive lines throughout. Tracks like ‘Arrest Room’ and ‘Breath a Dime’ are perfect examples of this, where Morrison shows off his impressive vocal range. Similarly, guitarist Stacy Gray has plenty of standout moments. ‘Strange Behaviour’s rolling guitar riff is bound to be hummed for days, while his work in ‘Exology’ is nothing short of outstanding, despite neither being overly complex. The rhythm section of new bassist Richard Buxton and drummer Shaun Gionis is consistently solid throughout, with their energetic, albeit subtle approach never letting up.
Such is the infectiousness of Trial Kennedy. While there is nothing complex about the quartet’s music, their music is, at heart, bloody catchy. It’s not hard at all to nod one’s head along to the chorus of songs such as ‘Cold War’ or ‘Sally’ amongst others. ‘Cold War’ sees the band at what is their most upbeat on Living Undesigned, featuring what is probably the best chorus on the album. While opener ‘Sally’ typifies the band’s updated guise, producing a more mature and well thought out sound whilst retaining the band’s earlier penchant for obscenely catchy choruses. Meanwhile, ‘Arrest Room’ could quite easily be one of the songs of 2011. Its sombre build up of strings and keys providing the perfect backdrop for Morrison’s impressive vocals before letting loose in the chorus with a torrent of emotion.
While there isn’t the same plethora of pop hooks to be found when compared to Trial Kennedy’s debut, ‘Living Undesigned’ is still chock full of the infectious rock the band is loved for, albeit with a darker edge. Given their recent history, simply releasing their second album is a triumph for the quartet. Their sophomore album is the band’s most mature work to date, across all areas. When taking into account the quality of the music to be found, Trial Kennedy are well on the way to returning to their previous heights. ‘Living Undesigned’ is a brilliant step forward from a band deserving of so much more.
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
Album Rating: 4
Get this album.
You can hear most of the tracks on their facebook page.
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Looking forward to this. Seeing them on Thursday.
Digging: Kate Miller-Heidke - Nightflight
| | | Album Rating: 4
You'll love this, David. I saw them on friday night, the new songs sound great live.
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Great review Vools, have this pos.
Digging: Arkan - Salam Digging: Arkan - Salam
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Uh, gonna listen. I'm having a huge sympathy for Australian Rock bands.
Digging: Hellfucked - Gods Of Negativity Digging: Hellfucked - Gods Of Negativity
| | | Album Rating: 4
Chances are you'll love it.
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Definitely liked the first album. "War King" is still on my Ipod. It'd be great if there'd be more new material coming from some of your bands down there. I always like listening to Karnivool in summer.
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this band are pretty cool regardless of the fact triple j whore them around which usually means a band sucks
will maybe get
Digging: Hop Along - Get Disowned Digging: Hop Along - Get Disowned
| | | Album Rating: 4
Definitely get it dude.
It's a great album.
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fuck yeh love these guys
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this band are pretty cool regardless of the fact triple j whore them around which usually means a band sucks
No seriously
Dumbest thing you have ever said
| | | Album Rating: 4
Seriously. Arrest room is so good.
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i'm so right though
| | | Album Rating: 4
Been meaning to check these guys out. Should I start with this or the first?
Digging: Jack White - Blunderbuss Digging: Jack White - Blunderbuss | | | Album Rating: 4
Start with this and work backwards through their catalogue. I can see this being more up your alley, dude.
| | | Album Rating: 4
Cool man. Just looked up strange behaviour and enjoyed what I heard.
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
great, solid album. i hope these guys have a better time making their next one.
listening to songs like sally and arrest room makes me think these guys are capable of anything.
| | | Album Rating: 4
Still obsessed with Arrest Room.
Shit is so damn good.
| | | Album Rating: 3
Need. More. New. Aussie. Rock.
Digging: El-P - Cancer For Cure | | | Album Rating: 4
Loving these guys sound. So many aussie bands are forgetting to add balls to their sound and it's great to hear these guys have a definite pop sound but without all the indie crap that so many bands are doing at the moment.
Gonna pick up this album finally today!
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