667: The Neighbour Of The Beast
Fueled Up Records, 2000
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Leftovers_(American_band)
REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 03/06/2001
I think we need to pass a law saying that if you use an assumed name for whatever reason, it has to be something that sounds at least halfway plausible. I know; I speak from the experience of writing as "Bob Pierce" for the first two years of this site's existence.
In the case of the Swedish quintet The Leftovers, whoever came up with these names should be locked in a closet and given nothing to read but Jackie Collins novels (as well as maybe A Separate Peace... what a pile of manure that book was from my high school experience). This will be the only mention of the band members: vocalist Mr. Suit, lead guitarist Pete Savade, guitarist Nikki Violent, bassist Nick Skrewdriver and drummer Rob Riot. I must now pause to wash my hands; they feel so dirty after typing those names.
It's a shame that I find myself railing against the band for their lame stage names, 'cause their latest release 667: The Neighbour Of The Beast isn't that bad. Oh, it's raw, untamed and occasionally bordering on mass musical hysteria... but as much as you might want to hate this disc, you find you can't... well, at least not totally.
Musically, The Leftovers are a mixture of power-driven hard rock with the energy and anger of punk rock. While some of the lead guitar work occasionally sounds like it was cut from the exact same swatch of cloth, musically this band isn't all that bad. Who knows? With a little more polish in the studio and a coat of paint on the songwriting, they could give bands like Green Day and Blink 182 a run for their money.
Tracks like "Evil Knievil" (their spelling), "13 Needles And A Doll," "Breakout" and "Knockin' Me Dead" all kind of remind me of The Pixies meeting Elvis for a Vicodin cocktail or three. The music picks you up and slams you against the wall, daring you to complain about the trip. The thing is, you can't - at least not while the music is this powerful and engrossing.
Oh, don't think that The Leftovers have gotten everything right on their first try; 667: The Neighbour Of The Beast shows that the band has more maturing to do musically. Tracks like "Fucked Up Situation" and "Burning Love" don't quite hold the same level of interest as the "A"-material. Consistency is important to a band like this, especially when you throw 11 songs into the mixer in just over a half-hour.
The Leftovers are a band who could well have a pretty rosy future ahead of them in the States, especially among the punk crowd. 667: The Neighbour Of The Beast is the kind of disc that suggests some great things could be coming from this group, and that this is not a bad start. Not a perfect start, mind you, but not a bad one.