Monthly Crush: The Enemy

Sometimes I just get in the mood for some stadium-sized, anthemic Britrock, and recently I’ve been getting my fix from The Enemy’s debut album We’ll Live And Die In These Towns. The Coventry-based trio’s disc was released in their native UK last July, where it went straight to #1 on the album charts and spawned three top-20 singles (”Had Enough” charted highest at #4). All of this means, of course, that it’s never seen the light of day on our shores, and I owe the breathlessly-hyped coverage in Q & NME thanks for introducing me to them.

Their unabashedly big sound is equal parts modern indie-punk and mid-90’s Brit rock (imagine the Arctic Monkeys & Oasis having a baby), and their songs are universally built around soaring riffs and fist-pumping choruses; you can practically see crowds bouncing along when the songs really get going. The album is solid from beginning to end, but I think it peaks smack-dab in the middle with “You’re Not Alone,” which might have secured itself a place on my year-end compilation thanks to its driving beat, earworm-inducing melody, and sort-of-unintelligible but makes-you-want-to-sing-along-anyway chorus. Enjoy:

Download: The Enemy, “You’re Not Alone” (mp3)

Download: The Enemy, “We’ll Live And Die In These Towns” (mp3)

Like what you hear? You can download We’ll Live And Die In These Towns from 7digital.com, a neat UK-based digital music retailer that opens the door for us Yanks to get ahold of European music without the heavy import charges. You’ll pay in British pounds, but the cost for albums is pretty close to what you’d pay for a CD anyway (5-8 pounds is roughly equivalent to 10-16 dollars).