Album Review: The Living End – Wunderbar

Australia’s The Living End have now been with us for twenty four years, in that time they’ve released a steady stream of singles and EP’s, three compilation albums and now they are set to unveil their eighth studio album, Wunderbar, that will be released via Rise Records on the 28th September on purple splatter vinyl, CD and download formats. Their latest full length was recorded over a six-week period in Berlin during an inspired recording session with producer Tobias Kuhn, which saw Wunderbar come together faster than any previous album from The Living End.

Wunderbar opens with album’s lead single, Don’t Lose It, a melodic fusion of rock and punk rock that The Living End could produce with their eyes shut, but as the album progresses they switch off the autopilot and album becomes slightly rawer and the tracks veer across the styles of the seven albums that preceded Wunderbar. The highlight of the album comes in the form of Death Of The American Dream, this is a classic in the making with the frantic slapping double bass prominent in the mix just as it should be before the track fades into a Sergio Leone-esque ending

Whilst not quite hitting the peaks of their self titled debut album and it’s follow up, Roll On, Wunderbar is a solid return to form that will keep any established fan of the band happy, for the most part Wunderbar contains a satisfying but somewhat unsurprising mix of punk rock, ska, rock and rockabilly, whilst this is a more polished and radio friendly album that the bulk of their past releases there are still moments on Wunderbar that remind you exactly why you fell in love in with The Living End in the first place

Wunderbar can be pre-ordered here and The Living End‘s website can be found here