Out Today: Laughing In The Face Of – ‘Here Lies Ordinar
Laughing In The Face record, ‘Here Lies Ordinary’, is out now!Almost a decade after their first album, Birmingham’s skate-punks Laughing In the Face Of have just put out a new record on 12″ vinyl & CD with Lockjaw Records.
Laughing In The Face Of (LITFO) excel in tight melodic hardcore, riddled with hooks, riffs, and head-banging breaks. These Brummie boys take influence from 90’s punk bands like Ten Foot Pole, Lagwagon and Descendents, and inject it with technical prowess borrowed from metal bands like Municipal Waste, Misery Signals and Shai Hulud.
‘Here Lies Ordinary’ is the second full-length record from the band. It features 12 uptempo, tumultuous tracks, including the three singles:
Running with Coffee, Bullshit with a Smile, and Helldweller.
Watch the video for LITFO’s latest single Helldweller
On the new record, LITFO deliver a commentary on the labours of adult life, being trodden down in uninspiring day jobs, working through broken relationships and dealing with the mental health strain that they create.Vocalist and guitarist, Steve Lowry, elaborates, “It’s about the awareness of how we live and how we treat each other in this seemingly short amount of time, and the petty things we squabble over – which really don’t mean much in the grand scheme of things.’’“Some songs were written during anger or anxiety and there’s some written retrospectively whilst in a better frame of mind, which was quite refreshing and cathartic.”Fuelled by coffee, they weave their narrative into a whirlwind of dexterous break-neck speed drums, burning guitar riffage and melodic harmonies.
Unpredictable twists and turns leave the listener excited and intrigued, taking their unmistakable signature sound to the next level.“I feel like we’ve taken all the things we like and we’re doing, and some things we were trying to do before, and then just them evolved them and done them better. It’s fast, hyper and melodic with choruses and it’s full of riffs and heavier influences,’’ said Steve.Here Lies Ordinary has DIY ethic at its heart, written, engineered and recorded by the band at their rehearsal room and mixed by frontman Steve Lowry. The hands-on approach gave the band more time and freedom to develop their sound.“As I was the engineer and mix producer, it was very meticulous and time-consuming for over a year, but also great at the same time. I feel like this album has made us all a bit better at what we do, because it’s the most self-critical we’ve ever been about writing and tracking the instruments and vocals.”Bassist, Jimmy Carroll, adds, “I’m really proud of it sounding like an actual album as opposed to a bunch of songs just thrown together. We did put in a fair amount of attention to the sequencing of the whole thing and I feel like it flows from start to finish.’’ The record was mastered by a friend and fellow skate punker John Harcus from Scottish punk band PMX.If you want to catch the band live this year, they’ll be joining the huge line-up at Manchester Punk Festival this April and have multiple tours planned including a week in Japan with RNR booking.
BUY FROM LOCKJAW RECORDSHere Lies Ordinary is available via Lockjaw Records on both 12″ vinyl and CD with multiple bundle options including an exclusive t-shirt design by Dan Allen. The vinyl comes in two colour variants, Fiery orange & Gaseous green. The album and single feature the vibrant artwork of Mark Bell.
TRACKLISTING:
1. Regression Session2. Projectile Dysfunction 3. Bullshit With A Smile (VIDEO)4. Running With Coffee (VIDEO)5. Modus Operandi 6. The Insane Continue7. Rationalisation Of Stupidity 8. Looks Can Be This Evening9. Helldweller (VIDEO) 10. Penguins11. Reasons & Reminders12. From The Ground Up
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Laughing In The Face Of are:
Steve: Vocals / GuitarJon: Guitar / Backing VocalsJim: Bass Andy: Drums / Backing Vocals
