Living Daylights

Sudbury Rock City -- well, maybe not quite, but Living Daylights are certainly going to help get this small northern Ontario town on the map. The town already has some gems such as Statutes and Vicious Cycle. Living Daylights are the latest to make a move to break through to a national and international audience. They've done this through tons of touring and playing music as honestly and as passionately as they know how. The end result is easily the best thing to come out of northern Ontario, and possibly the rest of Canada, this year.

Living Daylights wear their influences on their sleeves. They may come from Canada, but if you didn't know any better you'd swear they come from the southern States. The differences between the two locals aren't that different, though. Sudbury, in a way, is much like, say, Richmond. It's a working class town that holds plenty of stories about those on the fringes of society and those working to keep themselves inside.

At their best, which Living Daylights are on much of this release, a self-titled 7-inch, is loaded with fast, no-nonsense blue-collar punk rock in the vein of Leatherface, Avail, and Lifetime. In the few weak moments they demonstrate, the band simply seems to speed things up a bit to much. Standout tracks such as "I Am the Lizard King" and "Is That Tom Bosley" demonstrate that Living Daylights have the potential to burst out into Canada's punk scene, thanks to a perfect balance of grit and melody. Even a song such as "For Julie," despite its piss-poor production (or was it recorded live?), manages to stand out.

Despite being a young band, Living Daylights sound as though they've been playing together and touring as a group for years. This kind of weathered effect works out great for the band.

For a debut, Living Daylights is better than I could envision myself as a band to produce. It contains all the elements of my favorites and I have no doubt that their next album, if not this one, will be all I need to make it through the shittiest of days and toughest of times.