Responses to various comments from the thread concerning the website's stream of Far from Finished's Living in the Fallout:

Re: Far From Finished: 'Living in the Fallout'
by Someone on 2007-07-21 14:21:50
first

p.s your mother

Wow, good response time being first there. I can imagine far From Finished would have liked to have been as timely in their release of Living in the Fallout, which was set for release last November before the band left Sailor's Grave Records. However, the time in between has allowed for the record to radiate noticeable buzz and wind up a highly anticipated release.

Re: Far From Finished: 'Living in the Fallout'
by Someone on 2007-07-21 14:24:23
amazing album

It is a great album, and definitely one of the best straight-ahead punk records of the year. There must be something in the water over in Beantown, because the city has become a hotbed for catchy street-influenced punk. There's Darkbuster, Street Dogs, Dropkick Murphys, the Unseen, and the Ducky Boys just to name a few and Far from Finished is a worthy addition, with punked up rock and roll tempos, unique but comfortable riffs, and enough hooks to open up a bait shop down on the dock.

Re: Far From Finished: 'Living in the Fallout'
by 1234go on 2007-07-21 19:25:59
These guys need to take it easy in the studio. I got a copy of their record for review and it's one of the most over polished records I've heard in forever. Entirely ruins it for me.

The production on Living in the Fallout is of very high quality, but I personally don't think it detracts at all from the record's sound. Far from Finished is talented enough to pull off slick accompaniments to diversify their sound with organs, saxophones, and pianos, like the loungey rockabilly bridge of "Just Us Kids," the ska interlude of "Roses and Razorblades" or the unexpected ivory balladry planted in the middle of "The Imposter." If a band as capable as Far from Finished has the budget, at least it ensures that they won't be left with a final product whose production resembles the Lucky Stiffs' unfortunate Gold in Peace, Iron in War.

Re: Far From Finished: 'Living in the Fallout'
by Someone on 2007-07-21 22:11:1
This band is great, i'll wager a fourth of my right testicle that they will blow up soon enough.

I don't generally trust the tastes of the mainstream, but Far from Finished has a catchy enough sound to appeal to almost anyone. And who knows, with Dropkick Murphys signing a major label distribution deal, the time may soon come for more of Boston's punk darlings to grab the limelight. Be careful with wagers like that though, it's not easy to pick up chicks when you have one and 3/4 testicles.

Re: Far From Finished: 'Living in the Fallout'
by Someone on 2007-07-22 08:20:53
a lot of their songs sound good but are ruined by being too long or the high school quality lyrics

Valid criticism on both accounts, but the song lengths are not so unbearable when each track is as fantastic as those on Living in the Fallout. Lyrically, the album shows progress, after the band's debut suffered a bit from clichés like "A Destination Nowhere" and "9 Lives." Too many Social Distortion influences gnaw frustratingly throughout, and songs spattered with unnecessary expletives like in "Disaster" come off as a tad immature, but for the most part, the lyricism has improved. "Twenty-One Guns" sounds like the Street Dogs, which of course is a compliment: "Jimmy's going off to war tomorrow / Trading his shovel for a big old gun / Time to stand up and time to be a man / Putting the trigger in his right hand / […] / Another family that's torn by war / Another soldier that's face down in the dirt." "Just Us Kids" boasts the album's best lyrics despite being a total downer: "Bringing flowers to the graveyard ain't no fun / When you're there to see the ones you love / Another friend is dead and gone / And all the friends we tried to save / We watch the grass grow 'round their graves / Whatever happened to all our better days?"

Re: Far From Finished: 'Living in the Fallout'
by die_die_die on 2007-07-21 19:01:40
I like this record.

As do I. So far it's a top contender for this year's quintessential summer album. Last year's was without a doubt the Bouncing Souls' The Gold Record, and Living in the Fallout has all the energy, hooks, and good vibes to match it.

Re: Far From Finished: 'Living in the Fallout'
by MadCow on 2007-07-21 14:21:57
Word

Word.