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Tuesday, July 31, 2018

The Living End goes inside the 'Wunderbar'

Always good news to hear that one of my favorite past interview subjects has new material coming...

Rise Records and Australia’s The Living End – Chris Cheney, Scott Owen and Andy Strachan – have announced a new studio album titled Wunderbar (pre-order).

Out on Sept. 28, it features the first single “Don’t Lose It." Stream on Spotify HERE and check out the music video featuring a mock American Idol talent search starring an array of Australian celebrities on YouTube HERE.

Wunderbar, The Living End’s eighth studio release, came together faster than any album the band has ever made. After deciding to write and record a new album in September 2017, the band booked recording and pre-production sessions in Berlin, Germany, for January 2018, giving them four months to write an entire record.

“We had limited time to write,” recalls Cheney. “We were freaked out by it at first but it turned into a good thing because it meant full steam ahead.” 

Living in a space with no heating, Cheney, Owen and Strachan felt the brunt of Berlin’s icy winters. But if the band hadn’t been pulled out of their comfort zone, there’s no way they would have been able to put together a record like Wunderbar.

“Berlin’s such an amazing place,” Owen said. “There’s no better place in the world for rock and roll bands to make dirty, gritty rock and roll music.” Decamping to the city where icons like Iggy and Bowie and Eno was a huge inspiration for the band, and helped tap into the same punk spirit that initially made them so famous.

“Otherside” is a tale of jealousy and ambition. “The grass is always greener,” says Strachan of the track. “But sometimes you have to stop to look at what you have. You soon realize that things could be much worse.”

Then there's “D.E.A.T.H.,” Wunderbar’s most political song. “After having lived in the States for almost seven years, I felt sympathetic towards them,” Cheney says. “It’s become a bit of a laughing stock. The Cadillac broke down.” “D.E.A.T.H.” has backing vocals from Die Toten Hosen, Germany’s biggest rock band. 

Track listing:

Don’t Lose It
Not Like The Other Boys
Otherside
Death of The American Dream
Drop The Needle
Love Won’t Wait
Proton Pill
Amsterdam
Too Young To Die
Wake Up The Vampires
Rat In A Trap

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