Pitchfork

Forkcast kicked off with a bang back in January with the premiere of Ted Leo's "The Sons of Cain" (MP3), the debut track off his forthcoming Living With the Living LP. The song, another upbeat power-pop stomper with Ted's signature bookish flair, remained true to his enduring aesthetic, powered by double-timed locomotive drumming, breakneck guitars, and a killer vocal performance Leo obviously threw his back into.

"Bomb.Repeat.Bomb", however, finds the troubadour doing what everyone has hoped he would: traversing new sonic terrain. Exploring a more aggressive sound, the track takes obvious cues from the Dismemberment Plan, conjuring Travis Morrison's sing/speak vocal style to front a brutal anti-war tirade. Running roughshod over the barrage of thundering drums, anxious guitar, and the militaristically barked refrain, Leo's light-speed rant ramps up into a soaring stadium-rock chorus that (whoops!) could easily become an unwitting anthem for troops to blast across Fallujah battlefields:

And when the crying starts
You won't have to see their bloodshot eyes turn red
And when the dying starts
You won't have to know a thing about who's dead
This is your mission
Pretend it's television
Where the good guys always win.

This alternate take, titled "Bomb.Repeat.Bomb.(1954)", is practically indiscernable from the album version (save the bleeped-out "bullshit"), but that means it's also equally explosive. Whether Leo loyalists will back this departure from his brainier songcraft is another question, but at press time, the song stands as Ted's most vitriolic performance to date-- if he keeps this up, he might find himself back at the throat doctor.

MP3: > Ted Leo: "Bomb.Repeat.Bomb.(1954)"
[from Living With the Living; due 3/20/07 on Touch & Go]
[PRE-ORDER CD] | [PRE-ORDER 2xLP]