'The Living End' of this band's career

With its tardy follow-up to 2001's Roll On, Australian trio the Living End, has officially fallen off. Still looking like they're straight out of 1977, their getup of Gretsch guitars, Creepers and an upright bass screams something aggressive; however, this look has become deceiving. The band has abandoned its tough psychobilly and punk-influenced roots since earlier albums, pumping out a polar opposite with a whole new weak demeanor and soft sound. The 14 tracks melt together in a monotony of mid-tempo crowd-pleasers for the 14-year-old girls who will be cheering for them in the front row at every concert. \nKicking off the terribly polished record is the sing-along "What Would You Do?" followed up by tracks sounding like they will end up on the next teen movie soundtrack. Fortunately, picking up the album's slack are standouts "One Said to the Other," as well as "Hold Up" and "End of the World" -- the only tracks which echo the bands early sound, calling on the greats of punk and rockabilly where the upright bass is played the way it should be.\nBottom line -- the Living End has started living up to its name with Modern Artillery, as the living end of itself.