The Living End- It's For Your Own Good

This is the second EP from The Living End. It was released in 1996, one year after their debut Hellbound, and one year before Prisoner of Society shot them into the stratosphere.

From Here On In kicks things off with a great punk thrash. The energy is great, and the hint of rockabilly gives it a point of difference compared to run-of-the-mill punk of this era. Problem is similar, with a fantastic chorus, but I find the stop-start verses destroy the groove.

As a bonus, the recording quality is much improved over the Hellbound EP. The instruments are much better balanced, the vocals sound much nicer and the slapping of the double-bass gives the sound a unique character.

English Army reminds me of Save the Day (from their debut album a few years later) in many ways. It is grunty punkabilly perfection, dripping with catchy hooks but also managing to not sound twee. Similarly, One More Cell seems like a predecessor to Fly Away. The both feature the winning combination of an angry chorus contrasted by softer introspective verses.

The grunty rock interpretation of The Cure's 10:15 Saturday Night is a solid effort, however I prefer the understated style of the original.

The slamming instrumental intro of Stay Away From Me could have been an instrumental song in its own right, ala Hellbound. While the punk vocal section isn't as unique, it does a great job in continuing the high energy levels.

Favourite songs

From Here On In, English Army, One More Cell, Stay Away From Me

Worthwhile?

Where Hellbound is obviously a predecessor to the Prisoner of Society EP, the slightly more intricate It's For Your Own Good is a closer relation to the other songs off the debut album. Both are great.