The Enemy are an Indie Rock band from Coventry and can be seen to have had it very, very easy. They formed in 2006, and after playing a mere 10 gigs the band sought the help of ‘Grand Union Management’, the people that had helped Boy Kill Boy to success the previous year. They were soon the opening act at Coventry’s Godiva Festival, and shortly after this they became the first signing on Stiff Records for twenty years, a subsidiary label of Warner Records. This album was released through Warner in July 2007, and hit Number 1 in the album charts; a great achievement for the band. They are loved by the NME, hated by XFM’s breakfast show presenter Alex Zane due to altercations during a television interview, and although I personally do not like how they shot to success so quickly, I must concede that I really do quite enjoy some of their music.
Over rated; probably, but a decent band nonetheless, The Enemy’s 2007 début album ‘We’ll Live and Die in These Towns’ is one that is well worth listening to. Of the eleven tracks present on the album, six have already been released in some shape or form already, and with a seventh due out in March; it would seem that The Enemy may well be on a mission to release every track from their début. Would sure be an interesting one if they did, and I personally would love to see them do it. That said, a couple of the tracks they have not already released aren’t exactly the best of tracks so I doubt that they’d do too well if they were released upon the world as singles.
‘We’ll Live and Die in These Towns’ begins quite weakly with the track ‘Aggro’, one of which I am really not at all a fan of. I just feel that the track never really gets going and is therefore not very interesting at all to listen to. I never like to hear a weak opening to an album, it generally means that the album ahead is going to be rather disappointing, however this is not so with The Enemy. Despite the dodgy opening they then go on to produce quite an impressive display in the rest of the album. They don’t wait long to prove their worth as the second track on the album is actually ‘Away From Here’ which is probably my favourite from this release. It’s such a fantastic track and right from the very first time I ever heard it I was a huge fan. The track just captures my imagination entirely and has me hooked from beginning to end as the band blast their way through this superbly catchy ultimate Indie anthem.
‘You’re Not Alone’ is another highlight from the album for me. Although it only reached Number 18 in the charts, I feel that it definitely should have been at least a Top 10. It is a hugely powerful track, one where the vocals really shine through and the driving guitars really make the track stand out to me. The lyrics aren’t exactly ground breaking, however they work and somehow possess a great power about them which makes them sound more important than they perhaps are. It is warming and reassuring to hear the band belting out the lyrics of ‘You’re Not Alone You Know’ in a vocal tone so deep that it will rock the very foundations of your existence. The Enemy have a great talent for producing intensely powerful music and ‘You’re Not Alone’ is no exception to this rule.
When a band have released six singles from an album and are soon to push that number up to seven; you’d imagine that with only four remaining tracks to pick from there would be little or nothing of interest remaining. In thinking this however, you’d be completely wrong as ‘Technodanceaphobic’ for a start is absolutely excellent. It is not a conventionally appealing track; it has quite a slow pace and a rather repetitive musical back beat, however it works and actually sounds absolutely excellent. This is a track that I’ve played many times over the months and is one that I would wholeheartedly recommend to all. Given that it has not been chosen as a single, maybe I am out on my own in my love for this one, however even still, I somehow doubt it and perhaps the excellence of this one has been carelessly overlooked.
One thing that does strike me when listening to this album is that the last two tracks are really quite disappointing. The album begins badly with ‘Aggro’ and the closing tracks ‘This Song’ and ‘Happy Birthday Jane’ are equally irritating to listen to. They just don’t appeal in quite such a way as the rest of the album, and these three tracks alone I feel detract from the overall quality of the ‘We’ll Live and Die in These Towns’ album as a whole. Bad openings and closings are something that I hate to hear when listening to an album, and this one possesses both which really is a great shame. The Enemy are a decent band and had they hidden these three tracks in the middle rather than putting them at the beginning and end of the album then I probably wouldn’t have minded so much, but for me these are very important points and can make or break an album for me. Whilst I’d find it very hard to dislike a decent album purely on the basis of a bad opener or closer, I do find it greatly irritating to hear and am disappointed with The Enemy for their decision to use these tracks in the places that they have.
The Enemy make terrific use of their instruments on this release and prove themselves to be really quite proficient performers at their trade. Their brand of Indie Rock is not always successful as at times it can sound a little dull in my opinion, but for the most part the band sound great in doing what they do and should definitely look to continue on with the same formula in the future. Front man and champion guitarist Tom Clarke is in possession of a fantastic voice and his vocals really shine through in this release. His guitar work is also greatly impressive, and with the ever powerful drums, and booming bass lines to back him up; the music of The Enemy is absolutely fantastic and for the most part listening to this album is therefore a joy.
Although this début album from The Enemy contains a few tracks that will probably not impress you as much as others, the album as a whole is really rather excellent and I feel that it is definitely worth checking out. Success came a little too easily for The Enemy as far as I’m concerned, however I shall not be holding that against them as I think that it is great when Rock bands do well for themselves. Whether a band has been together for 5 minutes or 5 years; cracking the mainstream is a great achievement that should not be belittled in any way, shape or form. If you’ve not yet listened to this début album offering from The Enemy then why not give it a go? There’s bound to be at least the odd track or two here that will put a smile on your face, and if you happen to be a fan of the Indie Rock genre then I’m sure that you will find great enjoyment in this release. There are a lot of bad Indie bands out there, but The Enemy are not one of them.
Label: Warner Music Group
Release Date: 9th July 2007
Rating:
UK based film graduate with a huge passion for music, sports and video games.