Published on Mar 6, 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.