The Living End - LongLive the Weekend (single)

Sun 2nd Jul, 2006 in Music Reviews

From the start it seems so obvious.

‘Punk’ band sells out (or run out of ideas), and puts out a song that tells people to enjoy the end of the week.  Even from the cover, it’s clear.

But going with the feeling of  ‘Long Live the Weekend,’ the third single off The Living End’s fifth album State Of Emergency, might be a good option. It’s a better song than the last one taken off the release, ‘Wake Up,’ mainly because lead singer Chris Cheney sounds less like The Strokes.

Basically it’s like Green Day but with a bit more of an edge.  Forgettable, but who was asking for more?  If you don’t like the song itself, you could turn instead to staring at the three of them made-up with loose ties and hair that spent half an hour in the dressing room to perfect (which makes them even more like Billie Joe clones). Or the ultra-modern city art on the inner sleeve.

Or you could turn to the three other tracks on the mini-EP – it’s sure a good value for money.  ‘Flood the Sky’ has better basslines, drumbeats and melody, and is briefer, coming up just short of headbang-worthy.  Unfortunately, the other two tracks are not nearly as up to scratch: ‘Ape Face’ is a boring instrumental no doubt a tribute to The Living End’s own very monkey-like guitarist, and ‘Blue Moon Of Kentucky,’ though pretty pointless, a ‘bonus’ live track thrown in from a Triple M gig, at least closes it with a bit of humour.

Of course it seems useless to say that buying a single has always been something for the band’s hardcore fans only.  This third single is of course the same: it’s nothing mind-blowing, just another single in the day of the life of one of Australia’s favourite bands for their most radical fans to go and pick up in their spare time.  However, with three add-ons, remember this: ‘Long Live the Weekend’ might be a good choice… just to help you enjoy your weekend that much more.