CD Review: The Classix “Live What You Love EP”

Lauren Hedges

Last Saturday The Classix celebrated the release of their new EP Live What You Love at The Blind Dog with The Greatest Invention and We Can Be Heroes. The CD itself hold 20 minutes and 6 songs of a pop-punk/rap/rock nature.

It starts off with “Girl Like You,” a feel-good track that gets you pumped up – the sort of song you’d play while getting ready for a night out. The chorus is catchy, but not as much as the “na na na na na’s” that have been stuck in my head all day. The vocals themselves have a very Beastie Boys flavour that you can’t help but like, and the These Kids Wear Crowns-esque loops that pop up don’t spoil the mood either. I’m also pretty into the wailing guitars that keep showing up.

“Be Somebody” goes from stripped, rapped verses to a chorus that is full, soaring, and would fit perfectly into the previous song. The sound of the snare – make that the entire kit – is pretty awesome. Full and beefy without being too huge for the feel of the song. Great tambourine use, too. I love tambourine. With this track it’s not the vocals that lodge themselves in my brain, but a lovely guitar riff  that my mind decides to put on repeat.

A far calmer song than anything to show up yet, “Peace of Mind” waits until more than halfway through to pick up, and even then it’s not a full on kick, more just a gradual increase. Seemingly very 90’s inspired, this song really grooves, and although the sound of the entire EP I find to be very like SR-71, I think this song demonstrates this the most strongly. And it has a few bits of wonderfully placed reversed reverb; very enjoyable.

As soon as “Young and Reckless” starts it’s obvious that the party’s back on. Unlike some of the other tracks found on the EP, it has little else to say aside from “I like to party” – but there’s nothing wrong with that. For this track it’s the bass line and it’s tone that really catches my ear, bouncing along all nice and funky, a nice addition of low end without being too deep.

Song number five, “Nothin To Lose” is unlike everything else on the disc so far. It sounds far more ska, without quite being ska. It’s lighter and sweeter, and figures there’s no point in being depressed or stopping the partying, because there’s nothing to lose anyhow. A sentiment I can agree with. It also displays some great reverb on the chorus vocals.

If this album was an experiment in song writing and arrangements for the band, it’s easy to see how the closing and title track “Live What You Love”  is a culmination of everything. It combines the ska-y sweetnes of “Nothin To Lose” with the heavier party-ness of “Girl Like You.” It opens with some classic-rock style  riffs in a pop-punk tone that I quite like. This one also displayed my favourite vocals, putting more diversity into them throughout the song, even if my tastes were hoping for something a bit more raw here and there. Still a great jam, though.

Overall I did enjoy this album, it’s nice and fun, for when you’re not in the mood to take life too serious. It keeps on with traditional The Classix music, back from the days of “Dizzy”, (when they were The Afterparty) but you can hear that they’re starting to mature a bit, both musically and just in their lives. It will be interesting to watch this band progress further.