{"id":70003,"date":"2018-09-25T16:00:11","date_gmt":"2018-09-25T15:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=70003"},"modified":"2018-09-25T06:13:20","modified_gmt":"2018-09-25T05:13:20","slug":"review-living-with-lions-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-living-with-lions-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Living With Lions \u2013 Island"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>“I’m glad you’re back, it’s been a while,”<\/em>\u00a0‘Island’<\/em>s title track fittingly observes.<\/p>\n

Living With Lions<\/strong> formed in 2009, but haven’t released an album since 2011’s ‘Holy Shit’<\/em>. The departure of founding lead vocalist Stu Ross the following year meant uncertainty, and an interim of relentless touring meant a long stretch without new material.<\/p>\n

Consequently, LWL<\/strong> will be\u00a0new to many a pop-punk fan. But their experience \u2013 both of making music and of life \u2013 means the angle of their work is a far cry from that of a fresh-faced rock band. ‘Island’<\/em> was made with the socio-political challenges faced by their hometown of Vancouver in mind.<\/a><\/p>\n

Shades of this permeate the record: even standard breakup song ‘Second Narrows’<\/em> mentions the Saltwater City in both title (referring to Second Narrows Bridge) and lyrics: “I found a way around the town that I grew up in”.<\/em> The track might be the best on ‘Island’<\/em>, and appropriately shines brightest from its bridge onward.<\/p>\n