The Living End Respond To 'Plain Ugly' Reviews Of New Single

It can be hard to escape harsh feedback on social media if you’re an artist trying something a little different with your music – something The Living End discovered fairly quickly when they dropped their latest single, Keep On Running.

When they released the second single off their new album, Shift, the band noted on Facebook that while most of the reviews had been positive, there had been some “plain ugly” ones in the mix.

Speaking to theMusic.com.au in the lead up to the release of the new record and its accompanying tour, vocalist Chris Cheney said it was important for the band’s sound to evolve rather than rehash the same material over and over again.

“There was just an initial kneejerk reaction I think, people wondering what the hell we were doing with a full string section and it’s got a very pop kind of melody, but I’m quite proud to go out with a song that people don’t expect,” Cheney said.

“Even though we’ve done lots of things, I think people forget we have had a pretty diverse range of tunes and albums over the years.

“What’s the point of coming out with something that’s just The Living End by numbers - it just doesn’t excited me. I think it’s good, better people talk about you than not.”

The change of pace largely comes from the writing and recording method they employed for album number seven.

Living in LA for the better part of five years, Cheney hadn’t had much time to write or record with the band since 2010’s The Ending Is Just The Beginning Repeating, so when they signed on for A Day On The Green with Jimmy Barnes last year, they took the time off between weekends to built something from scratch.

“We just thought we might as well just jump into a studio during that time and just throw some ideas around and not really put any pressure on as far as having to have songs; just get in there and press record, which is a pretty daunting task.

“I’ve always had songs to bring in and we’ve always wanted to be prepared, so there was a certain danger by doing that that it would be a failure and that we would come out with nothing.”

Shift drops May 13 via Dew Process/UMA before they take it on the road with support from Bad//Dreems and 131's in June.

For all dates and other info, see theGuide.