Living With The Living
by Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
  1. Rolling Stone
    60
    Leo's melodic gifts don't keep up with his lyrics. [22 Mar 2007, p.80]
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  2. cokemachineglow
    60
    Ted Leo again falls a few hands short of the definitive statement we insist on expecting.
  3. PopMatters
    60
    An album that’s a little uneven but manages to work more often than not.
  5. No Ripcord
    50
    The songs are flat and unoriginal rock.
  6. The Boston Phoenix
    50
    The heart is here, but the lyrics have him sounding like a man who’s turned healing into a systematic process — a man who’s heard too much kind advice or maybe sat through too much therapy.
  7. Tiny Mix Tapes
    40
    This is a bloated, overlong rock record that shouldn’t have even considered breaking the 40-minute mark.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 19 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 19
  3. Negative: 1 out of 19
  1. guidedbyv
    Aug 11, 2007
    9
    The only band that matters! An excellent effort from an equally excellent band
  2. VincentH
    Aug 7, 2007
    6
    I am (like many other people who reviewed here) a huge, die-hard Ted Leo fan and like you all, I worship this man and am always appreciative I am (like many other people who reviewed here) a huge, die-hard Ted Leo fan and like you all, I worship this man and am always appreciative that he is writing music and releasing it. But this is easily and by far his weakest album. Tyranny, Hearts of Oak, and Shake the Sheets are all masterpieces in my opinion. They are all literally amazing and life-changing albums. So of course anything less is gonna be dissapointing, but even with lowered expectations, this album just doesn't deliver like any of his previous work. There are a handful of instant classics (A Bottle Of Buckie, La Costa Brava, The Unwanted Things) but the majority of the album kinda drags. What it comes down to basically is songwriting: there's nothing wrong with experimentation and trying different things of course, but if the songwriting isn't there to begin with, all that stuff doesn't matter. I mean the first half of the album is alright, but none of the songs have that instant amazing-catchy melodic part to them. There is not one song on here that even touches "Me and Mia" or "Where Have all the Rude Boys Gone?" or "Parallel or Together". The best songs on here aren't even as good as some of the more forgettable songs from "Hearts of Oak or his last album. Obviously Leo still can write amazing songs, but I just don't think the songs on this album are really that captivating. I could listen to any of the previous albums over and over and never get tired of them, because the songs are just so fuckin' good. All in all, the best songs on the album make it a worthwhile purchase, but be warned if you are a hardcore fan of the last 3 albums, I think you will be ultimately dissapointed and (like me) take out the disc and listen to "Shake the Sheets" again.… Full Review »
  3. WestonT
    Jun 4, 2007
    9
    The album is a 7 at best... with the regular hits and misses that TL/Rx is bound to have in any (read, all) of their albums. The Bonus EP is The album is a 7 at best... with the regular hits and misses that TL/Rx is bound to have in any (read, all) of their albums. The Bonus EP is raw and the amp clips hell out of the music, which makes it a hard listen in my book (like listening to a garage band a couple houses over through tin cans and a string) but the album is what I bought it for anyway. Oh yeah, I give it a '9' for the '10' that is seeing TL live. Even the cheesy "Bottle of Bucky" seems like talking to an old friend when Ted is howling a few yards away. Don't believe me? Go see him.… Full Review »
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