Do not confuse this Louisiana band with the Tennessee band of the same name. Otherwise you will find yourself looking at a very nice flash based website with a band that has some really bad hair. Louisiana's We are the Living seem to have decent do's and play 90's influenced indie hardcore that you wouldn't be surprised to see on labels like Magic Bullet or maybe even Crank!
The problem with We are the Living is that even though they are very competent at playing their instruments they are not very excited about it. Every song is an ebb and flow of super melodic guitars, throaty vocals and predictable quiet/loud parts. If you heard anything by early Boy Sets Fire to Engine Down than We are the Living will be nothing new to you as they were to me.
The thing that makes these types of bands good or at least noteworthy is a generous amount of oomph they put behind their music. And We are the Living just seems to be going through the paces of being yet another emotional ridden band that sound more restrained when they should be more chaotic. The guitars are way too mellow in their assault as they use a good but never very exciting interplay of melodic riffs while the bass and drums keep pace. The vocals yell but are never screamed or even sound impassioned about anything they have to say.
All in all, Encouragement by Assault was a plausible albeit boring listen. There was nothing on this twelve-track CD that grabbed me. That's a shame. We are the Living really outdid themselves with the layout of the packaging; it's too bad they couldn't have put forth a more energetic sound than what I heard. It's not a bad release by any means, it's just sort of there. Moreover, if you know me, I've heard enough bands to last me a lifetime that are just sort of there. Well at least We are the Living is better than the other We are the Living with their fancy website.
