Letlive. is a Post-Hardcore band hailing from Los Angeles Cali-forn-i-a. The word post means after, so take all those teens you knew in high school that wore really tight pants and listened to screaming music. You know, the ones everyone just dubbed “emo” (which is like calling all Asians Chinese. Just don’t, there’s levels to this shit). Well yeah, we grew up! And Post-Hardcore is born. We kept the screaming, moshing, and breakdowns, but it’s now bearable enough for everyone else to have a listen. I wouldn’t call this third album junior at all, since the topics being brought up aren’t light or for the close-minded. On this album entitled The Blackest Beautiful, front man Jason Aalon Butler spits about the race issues we know so well here in America. I say spit because his poetic cadence sets him apart from most rock band singers. The album art doesn’t shy from the content, displaying a whitewashed American flag over a figure’s head and a noose tightened around its neck.
The track White America’s Beautiful Black Market opens with the conga drums you’d expect to hear at a reggae party or salsa festival, not on a rock album. Fellow conscious and aware Americans can totally relate to lyrics like “Be sure that they will never cure you/You’re worth so much more diseased” and “Government sucking the dicks of corporations”. It’s great to see someone saying the things people need to hear, especially in a time where we need it most but get it the least. If you aren’t consciously aware, after spinning this album not only will you be, but you’ll be badass while doing it. The topics range from race to politics to that one time you fell in love and wanted to fight yourself about it. Did I mention rent control? With lyrics like “If home is where the heart is, it’s a crying shame we can't afford the rent”, EVERY New Yorker should own a Letlive. band tee.
Besides the poetics, musicianship is showcased throughout the album with great melodies, lively drums, and a bass guitar that rattles your gut. Tracks like Empty Elvis are the ones you throw on in the morning when you need good fight music to get you through your morning commute on the 4 train. The group puts on a show that most seasoned rock fans would still find shocking. Butler enters a trance and lets the music use his body as a vessel to hang from rafters and throw himself around like a possessed rag doll, in a good way. Besides great showmanship, the group is very down to earth and doesn’t forget that they are humans that others idolize. Perfectly enough you can catch these super humans at the AfroPunk Fest in Brooklyn on August 22/23. See for yourself the show they put on and mosh away your frustration towards CNN. SONIC ANARCHY!
