Live Like AnimalsModern State of Mind

Brisbane alt-rockers … wait, hang on. Is this right? alt-rock? Alternative to mainstream rock? I dunno man. Is this even rock? It’s pretty damned heavy if we want to be calling it rock. To be fair, some of this isn’t even rock at all.

MORE: NOFX: Fat Mike and his Eternal Footwaer Gratitude REVIEWS: CLOWNS: ENDLESS // BLINK-182: One More Time… // POPPY: Zig // MAGNOLIA PARK: Halloween Mixtape II // LUNE: The Change Around Us & The Change In You

Live Like Animals clearly give no flying damns about genre, that is for sure. I mean, can we even call a band like Sleep Token metalcore because they have guitars in? I’m not Oxford Dictionary, so I don’t make the rules.

Live Like Animals are a guitar-oriented band, that’s for sure. They can do balls-out heaviness that give Architects a run for their riffage (The White Room) yet two tracks later, you’d be forgiven if Spotify whisked you off to the grimy bowels of London on the trip-hoppy psilocybin infused Where Time Stands Still, where Amen breaks pulse over vocals squeezed through electronic boxes and synths reign supreme. They can write regular rock just as well, the mammoth chorus led Bloom could rub shoulders with the Don Brocos or Ice Nine Kills of the world and end up slap-happy mates by the end of the song.

Throughout its length you can hear bits of everything modern alternative has to offer; ‘core, electro, hip-hop. Yet it all works so well.

They’re no slouches in the songwriting department, barreling ever forward with their spotlit theatrical piece I’ve Seen This Before. As our singer reaches a stratospheric crescendo, stars come into view courtesy of swirling synths and punctuated, pop-punk guitars. Weaving through electro bangers (In Hexagonal Space) and party-hard heaviness from guitars and beats ala Electric Callboy (Everything Is Changing). Throughout its length you can hear bits of everything modern alternative has to offer; ‘core, electro, hip-hop. Yet it all works so well.

Live Like Animals is an obvious Savage Garden reference (unless I’m a complete dumbass). Pig City’s hit-machine duo are still celebrated as one of Australia’s brightest and most creative pop acts. The thing is, Savage Garden crossed every genre boundary imaginable yet found themselves at the top of ARIA charts every time. Moody alt-pop, post-grunge fistpumpers, silken folk tunes, dancehall bangers; each demonstrated the depth and breadth of their boundless imagination. Live Like Animals seem to be drinking from that same well – and we can only stand back in awe at what they might attempt next.

STANDOUT TRACKS: The White Room, Bloom, I’ve Seen This Before
STICK THIS NEXT TO: Don Broco, Ocean Grove, Electric Callboy