Babyland's inaugural 1998 release on their own independent record label, Mattress. A 15-track full length, and their fourth album, it's full of just the kind of passionate vocals and pounding rhythm that Babyland is known for; it is not as hard-edged and rough as their 1992 release "You Suck Crap", but it still contains the same visceral drive, combining that with quieter, sensitive songs, showing that as they've progressed as a group (they'd been together for 9 years when this album was released), they've stayed true to their roots while diversifying. Until Babyland's "The Finger" was released in 2004, I would've said that Outlive Your Enemies was their magnum opus, but now I just say that it's a damn good album worth picking up if you have any inclination towards industrial or electronic music.
When asked about the title, drummer Smith had this to say:
I don't want people to read into the title too seriously, but in the last nine years of making music we have run into people with potent attitudes. After awhile, this (sic) controversial people seem to vanish from the scene and yet we remained. More important that surviving against these people is to survive against our own personal demons inside of us.
So it felt really good to survive all of the problems we experienced throughout the history of the band and to successfully release our fourth record. That is what it is all about. We want to access the positive future of bringing back the responsibility of our success back to ourselves.
The track listing goes thusly:
- Omaha
- Youth Choker
- Hillhurst
- Safe Equals No Sound
- Wrong Nominee
- Test Pilot
- Creeping Up
- Sophomore
- The Issuing Line
- Mini Mall
- Five Fingers
- Dyn-O-Mite!
- Fucked Equipment
- 01
- It Never Ends
I'm not going to attempt a track by track breakdown, but I'll mention a few tracks I have something to say about:
- Safe Equals No Sound--Best Solo EVER, if you listen until the end of the track. For those that must know.... It's a trombone solo, played by someone who obviously has had, at most, one lesson, at the end of an almost drum & bass style track. Good to know they don't take themselves too seriously.
- Sophomore--Quoth Smith: "'Sophomore' {is our favorite track on the album}. It is a song we are probably not going to perform live very much because it is so sad. It is different than the rest of the tracks on the album. It allows you to clear your palette halfway through the album. Ultimately, the song surprised us. That is why we like it." It's a slower track with spacey and haunting synth, and lonely lyrics about loneliness and decay. Sad and beautiful.
- The Issuing Line--Awesome track. The chorus...
Nobody cares the way you want them to
Cast off in the selfish truth
Disappointment's the basic rule.
Nobody cares when you need them to
... It's wonderfully sung, and has stuck with me. There's an excellent 'string reissue' version of this track on the single for Past Lives.
- Five Fingers--One of the tip top awesome tracks on this album. I just really like how the percussion and synth come together in this track. The lyrics are done in such a way I find myself thinking "Man, I really want to listen to that part of "Five Fingers" right now ("Five fingers on my hand, I can't adapt...).
- Dyn-O-Mite!--There's this high dinging sound through this whole track that's kind of like a sassy cowbell. I think this song's about taking drugs, but I'm not sure; it's all about what happens "when the chemical kicks". This song is funky.
All in all, this is one of Babyland's better albums, in my view. It can be bought for a reasonable fee from amazon.com
Quotes from interview here: http://www.sonic-boom.com/interview/babyland-2.interview.html