Clearview (2013)
The Lillingtons are a band that I never got into the way it seems a lot of people did. At the time they were around, I never really ranked them with the bands I truly loved. They just weren't as good as The Mr. T Experience, Sicko, Zoinks! or Green Day. I held them in the same regard as I did more 2nd tier bands like Squirtgun or Chixdiggit. I have no problem with either of those bands, they just always seemed way more straight forward and not quite as dynamic as some of the others.
With a decade or so of hindsight, I can look back at these Lillingtons records with a new found respect. I still don't think they're in that upper echelon of pop punk, but I do enjoy their records more than I used to. I've grown more accustomed to the vocals of Kody Templeman. His crystal clear, but somewhat nasal delivery doesn't allow for as much melody as I tend to like, but it absolutely works within the context of the band.
Individually the records stand very strong, with Death By Television and The Backchannel Broadcast absolutely being the highlights. Having this box set is great, because it puts just about the entire recorded output of this band at my fingertips, however, I have to say that this is a band that's not meant to listen in large doses. If you try to sit down and listen to this entire box set, it's very fatiguing. The albums are best left enjoyed on their own.
The box set itself came in several super limited versions. The one I managed to grab was limited to 50 copies and came with all of the records on 200 gram red vinyl. They really do sound fantastic and the weight of these records is really something else. This version also has a metal box that goes over the regular cardboard box set. The metal box has the Lillingtons "L" die cut out of it so that the printed white "L" of the cardboard box shows through it. It's a really slick looking set, but it is really, really heavy. Don't drop it. I do wish it had come with some sort of liner notes, but that's not really a deal breaker for me.
It probably sounds like I'm not as excited as I am about picking up this set. I'm thrilled to have all of the records on vinyl now. It was even better to manage to grab one of the limited variants. Anyone who wants these records on vinyl should pick up this set. It's beautifully put together, and everything sounds great. Are they the best band in the world? No. But if you like some old school Ramones influenced poppy punk, it's a pretty essential set.
The Lillingtons - Black Hole In My Mind:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEoapQdUJ_M
The Lillingtons - Final Transmission:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j0vce4mcQI
The Lillingtons - All i Hear Is Static:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=puxDKu-PVKo
No comments:
Post a Comment