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 | The Lawrence ArmsA Guided Tour of Chicago1999 Asian Man 
  Review by: Doddfather See others by this writer The Lawrence Arms (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on November 15th 2002
The Lawrence Arms, as everyone may know, consists of former Slapstick and Broadways catalyst Brendan Kelly (vocals, bass), former Tricky Dick guru Chris McCaughan (guitar, vocals) and Baxter icon Neil Hennessey (drums). They have made a promising name for themselves with their new release "Apathy and Exhaustion" on Fat Wreck, but "AGTOC" is where they started, and laid the groundwork for future success. Without any previous knowledge of Kelly's vocals and lyrics, one would have trouble becoming acquainted and at the same time admiring his unique skills. His voice has been described as snotty, or gruff (a word that he might have innovated) but it gives TLA their sound and their own dimension. McCaughan adds some quality riffs and signatures, but as anyone can tell by listening to the entire TLA collection, this release is obviously not as refined or prepared, in regards to sound and recording quality, as much as later releases, but could still go down as their best album. People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
There best album right after the greatest story ever told Larry Arms really know how to play some good punk rock. I like the stuff on the splits with the Chinkees and Shady View Terrace though. yea, the only thing that holds this album back from true greatness is the major lack of Chris. He sounds awesome in the one song though. um... give it a 6. I saw these guys for the first time right before this came out, and they kicked ass. But i'd say this is their worst release. The production sucks, Chris sings half a song, blah. I'd say if the splits were one album, that would be the best, followed by "Apathy and Exhaustion", then "Ghost Stories". And though i love these guys, i wonder why they never put much thought into the music. They have awesome lyrics, but the music is always so sloppy and seems not too thought out. i posted below... 1) to the guy who asked about being the only person in chicago who doesn't like tla or alk3... no you're not the only jaded scenester, but one of very few none the less Really? personally, i think brendan's voice is better. excellent lyricist as well. Lawrence Arms are amazing. Sometimes Brendan's vocals seem off but their lyrics are amazing. I think Brendon should take second to the singing of McCoughan. I think he has one of the best voices in the industry. Northside, The L&L, and any number of crappy apartments is my favorite songs..they just need to come back and play for cincinnati again! Sad but true, at PFP and at Knitting Factory (the last few times I saw'em) few if any other than I knew their songs... I really do love their music and they definitely deserve a larger fanbase. i don't think Dillinger Four and the Lawrence Arms sound similar in anyway whatsoever. nonetheless, i'd have to say both of those bands are brilliant in their own right. i'm surprised LA don't have a larger fanbase. turnout for their Plea for Peace sets was relatively dismal, and they are still crashing at people's houses as the guy mentioned below. This is one of my favorite albums of all time. the best is whoever said the larry arms are overrated. wtf? did i miss something. i saw them at plea for peace and about 10 people knew who they were. they stayed at my apt. afterwards which was real cool though. i guess theyr'e so overrated they can't afford hotel rooms. this was 2 months ago, so unless something drastic has changed, they are still have a small fan base. it should cahnge, cuz they do kick fuckin ass. check out dillenger 4 if u like em, they're the closest sounding band to them, however some of chris's new songs sound very alk3 ish (your gravest words). that's what i thought... i guess i'll have to live off naked raygun, the effigies, and STYX for my chicago music fix I think that this review was really really good... specially because it was about one of my most favorite bands! I agree with everything you say, and it's really accurate :) I love the lawrence arms... Bren is really cool, when they played the troubadour with dillinger four, my sister was really late picking me up... and i was waiting outside for a long time... Bren offered to lend me his cell phone, and then told me that i could crash with them (too bad my flight left the next am... i would have definetly ditched my sis :) ) and he was just really really cool... great band... great review! great album! BMG- The Lawrence Arms are ok... but overrated.-BostonMusicGuy There is only one good song on the chinkees split. The rest are crap A good introduction to The Lawrence Arms but I think their better songs were on splits w/ Shady View Terrance and The Chinkees. Their new song on the latest Fat sampler is ROCKIN but too short. Oh well. the only larry arms cd i've heard is the new one. and i was impressed. but when i heard old stuff and saw them live, i waas horrified at the vocals. these kids can't sing for shit, and it ruined the show. i dont care if they're "gruff" or any of that crap, it doesnt help unless they sing in key. arg. I saw Lawrence Arms in The Knitting Factory and at PFP and they were amazing. I've spoken to Bren on numerous occasions and he is a cool person. I saw these guys play in a small, shitty venue with a friend's band like 5 years ago. I think the just finished this CD at the time. Their live show was damn fine even then, and I've been pretty hooked on this ever since. Still, "Apathy..." kicks this one down. That's a fucking solid album if I've ever heard one. I don't dig that Kevin Constner song. I hate Costner, and the lyrics are good, but it just doesn't do it for me. To the guy asking about Chicago. Yes, you're just about the only one. it is "these are the people in your neighborhood!" .. they are the people you dont see, when walking down the street.. bren once told me its best to rip off other people's accomplishments... cheers.. dodder What is the lyric taken from sesame street? I haven't a clue. That Kevin Costner song is awesome. Maybe the best Larry Arms song ever... Easily one of my favorite bands... am i the only person who lives in chicago who doesn't like these guys or Aklaine trio? This album is incredible. I love this album, but its still a toss-up between Apathy and Exhaustion and Ghost Stories between my favorite Larry Arms album. But this is still a gem. I just saw these guys for the first time w/ the alk3 on nov. 1, and the bass player was dressed as AWK, haha, it was so funny. They're music's really good too!!! the lawrence arms are one of my favs. brendan is the man..come to think of it, neil and chris are 'the man'(the men?) too. I think ghost stories is a little better than 'agtoc' but i love the song 'agtoc' and 'kevin costners casino'. i the TLA should write a few more politically inspired songs now, however. it seems as though they've abondoned that type of thought in their songs, but who am i to judge, they rock anyway. my fav songs by TLA are 'faintly falling ashes' and '100 reslutions', if you care at all.. I dig these guys so much. I want to move to Chicago and become a messanger boy like Brandon was. But still, my favorite LA release will always be Chicago is Burning... I am a very big fan of this album. From the start, one could tell that the larry arms were on to big things. kelly's vocals are fantastic, and chris are slowly developing into what they are now. its a quality album without a bad track. i recommend it for sure. solid review DD Yep... this album is cool, but its definately not as good as apathy and exhaustion. they have truly come into their own as songwriters, but this album, although ali8ttle raw sounding, still has some dope songs, like kevin costners casino and 'take one down and pass it around' Da Doddfatha? Are you serious? What the fuck kind of name is that? No offense or nothing, I'm laughing with you not at you... I think. Another good review. |
