If You Don’t Know, Now You Know: letlive.
Now, by no means is letlive. a new band. With three full-lengths and one EP under their belt, these L.A. “soul punx” are anything but new. However, for some reason a good amount of ill-advised listeners are still unaware of letlive.’s work. We’ll admit, a few of us around the office weren’t fully exposed to their vigorous stage presence and post-hardcore tunes until last year’s Warped Tour encounter. Nonetheless, we’ve all fallen head over heels for this act and think it’s time you should too.
Incorporating a bevy of influences into their music, whether it’s the hardcore explosiveness of The Chariot, the attitude and swagger of Rage Against the Machine or the genre-bending song structure of Glassjaw, letlive. does it all. Their latest album, The Blackest Beautiful, for example, opens with the ball-busting barn burner, “Banshee (Ghost Fame).” Featuring barbaric choruses and an up-tempo intro, letlive. also finds a way to fuse perfectly grooved-down verses into an already jam packed track. While you may think to yourself, “they can’t all be this crazy,” that’s where you’re wrong. The very next song, “Empty Elvis,” offers the same hostile and chaotic approach accompanied with contrastingly slower verses you can’t help but sing along to. Maintaining the same sense of disorder and perplexity throughout their entire discography, letlive. without a doubt keeps listeners on their toes at all times. Like riding a rollercoaster in the dark, you never know what’ll come next in a letlive. song until you experience it head on. It’s that same thrill ride of emotion and mayhem from this hard working quintet that keeps us continuously coming back time and time again.
Now, no letlive. write up would be complete without a mention of their charismatic and sometimes misunderstood frontman, Jason Aalon Butler. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, Butler only knows one speed when he’s performing; full-speed. Known for his on stage antics, this unruly vocalist has been seen climbing balconies, kicking security guards and even going for a swim mid-song. The funny thing is, those actions seem tame compared to some of the things we witnessed here. With that said, as entertaining as he is on stage, it’s actually Butler’s off stage personality that we love the most about him. Always wearing a smile and offering hugs to every letlive. supporter he can find, this humbled lyricist and his band of misfits have found a special place in our hearts.
