Album Review: The Living End - Shift

It's been five years between drinks for one of Australian rock'n'roll's most-loved trios, The Living End.

Having spent their 20-plus years shifting from punky upstarts to veritable A-listers, Shift is just that; a change of direction. The problem is, it's hard to know which direction that is. The record, while featuring a number of solid moments — see the ballady Keep On Running and sturdy rock-by-numbers Up The Junction — lacks any consistency in voice. Occasional guitar flourishes keep things interesting, but opener One Step gets the album off to a very poor start and TLE struggle to right the ship from there.