Living with the Living

Living with the Living is the fifth album by the Washington, D.C. rock band Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, released in 2007 by Touch and Go Records. It was the band's first album for the Touch and Go label and debuted on the U.S. Billboard 200 at number 109, selling about 8,000 copies in its first week.[1] Music videos were filmed for the singles "Bomb. Repeat. Bomb." and "Colleen". The iTunes download version of the album included a bonus track entitled "The Vain Parade", while first-run copies of the CD version included the bonus Mo' Living EP.

Living with the Living
Studio album by Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
Released	March 20, 2007
Recorded	September–October 2006
Genre	Art punk, punk rock, indie rock
Length	61:07
Label	Touch and Go
Producer	Brendan Canty
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists chronology
Shake the Sheets (2004) Living with the Living (2007) The Brutalist Bricks (2010)

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Aversion	[3]
No Ripcord	5/10[4]
Pitchfork	7.5/10[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]

Corey Apar from AllMusic praised Leo's overall musicianship for remaining consistent alongside his previous works in terms of emotional resonance and politically-minded savviness but was hoping for something a little more extraordinary that showed Leo pushing further away from his comfort zone.[2] Rolling Stone's Christian Hoard gave note of the "unusually spry riddims" Leo uses when delivering his political lyricism but felt it lacked memorability to remain in the listeners' head.[6] Gabbie Nirenburg, writing for No Ripcord, said about the record, "[T]he songs are flat and unoriginal rock. Ted's voice and vocal range is exemplary, but it's the only real star on this record. Nothing sticks the way it should. Perhaps it's a bigger blow to my system because I've come to expect such greatness from Ted Leo."[4]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Ted Leo.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Fourth World War"	0:35
2.	"The Sons of Cain"	3:59
3.	"Army Bound"	3:11
4.	"Who Do You Love?"	4:14
5.	"Colleen"	3:05
6.	"A Bottle of Buckie"	3:11
7.	"Bomb.Repeat.Bomb."	3:18
8.	"La Costa Brava"	5:56
9.	"Annunciation Day/Born on Christmas Day"	1:33
10.	"The Unwanted Things"	4:33
11.	"The Lost Brigade"	7:28
12.	"The World Stops Turning"	3:26
13.	"Some Beginner's Mind"	3:50
14.	"The Toro and the Toreador"	6:09
15.	"C.I.A."	6:33

iTunes bonus track

No.	Title	Length
16.	"The Vain Parade"	6:28

Personnel

• Ted Leo – guitar, vocals, other instrumentation
• Dave Lerner – bass
• Chris Wilson – drums

Album information

• Record label: Touch and Go Records
• Recorded September 24, 2006 – October 5, 2006 at Longview Farms in North Brookfield, Massachusetts with engineering by Ian Neill, and October 8, 2006 – October 14, 2006 at Blind Spot Studios in Washington, D.C. with engineering by Brendan Canty
• Mixed October 15, 2006 – October 22, 2006 at Blind Spot Studios in Washington, D.C. by Ted Leo and Brendan Canty
• Mastered November 28, 2006 at SAE Studios in Phoenix, Arizona by Roger Seibel
• Design by Jodi V.B. and Ida Pearle
• Photography by Shawn Brackbill

References

1. Katie Hasty, "Modest Mouse Steers Its 'Ship' To No. 1 Debut", Billboard.com, March 28, 2007.
2. Apar, Corey. "Living with the Living – Ted Leo & the Pharmacists / Ted Leo". AllMusic. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
3. Aversion review
4. Nirenburg, Gabbie (March 14, 2007). "Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: Living With The Living - Music Review". No Ripcord. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
5. Harvell, Jess (March 21, 2007). "Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: Living With the Living". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 28, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
6. Hoard, Christian (March 9, 2007). "Living With The Living". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 14, 2007. Retrieved August 8, 2011.