The Enemy

We'll Live and Die in These Towns

BY Cam LindsayPublished Sep 20, 2007

Britain’s fine tradition of producing rock bands seems to be diminishing by the second. The arrival of the Libertines in 2002 and Arctic Monkeys in 2005 sparked fervour in the UK that’s resulted in a glut of derivative acts. While there are always exceptions in every movement, they seem quite limited in this case, and the Enemy from Coventry, England, are a perfect example. Like the Twang, the Maccabees or the Holloways, they’ve ridden a tidal wave of hype with early singles and then floundered with their debut album. Unfortunately, that’s most definitely the case with the Enemy, as We’ll Live and Die in These Towns presents nothing but another band aping the artists that inspired them. The title track is sickeningly close to the Jam and their more down-tempo numbers like "That’s Entertainment,” with the same acoustic strut and even vocal delivery as Paul Weller’s from three decades ago. When they get more aggressive on tracks like "It’s Not Ok” and "40 Days and 40 Nights,” they only prove their ability to play power chords and yell anthemic choruses without any real purpose or, most importantly, a sense of melody. And that rings true throughout. The Enemy seem incapable of writing a memorable song, which leads me to question how they were hyped in the first place. Public Enemy’s words are truer than ever: "don’t believe the hype.” That is, if there’s any left.
(Warner)

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