Live At the Annandale Hotel

Life Without Buildings

Rate It! Avg: 4.0 (94 ratings)

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Album Information
EDITOR'S PICK // LIVE

Artist: Life Without Buildings (See All Albums by Life Without Buildings)
Date Released: Jun 11, 2007
Genre: Alternative/Punk, Style: Indie Rock, Alternative
Label: Gargleblast Records / IODA

Total Tracks: 12 Total Length: 56:46

eMusic Review 0

J. Edward Keyes

Editor-in-Chief

J. Edward Keyes has been writing about music for nearly 15 years, a fact he occasionally finds terrifying. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, the Village V...more »

04.22.11

A delayed farewell to a band that died far too soon.

2007 | Label: Gargleblast Records / IODA

The music blogs showed up too late to save Life Without Buildings, the Glaswegian post-punk quartet that came and went in one spectacular flash of power and potential. Had they waited another three years to form they might have inherited the praise (not to mention the seven-figure record contract) bestowed upon Love Is All; instead, they burned up in midair, disbanding after releasing one perfect record on a tiny subsidiary of Rough Trade in 1999. So take this live document as a kind of delayed farewell, the ideal summation of everything the band did well. There's the fitful guitar, the rattling percussion and Sue Tompkins 'marvelous, exclamatory vocals.

If there's a single defining attribute to Life Without Buildings 'songs, it's a steady sense of wonder. Tompkins sings like she's surprised, shouting out her lyrics like a kid playacting in a back bedroom. Live, that giddy rapture is enhanced: she hurls herself into her performance, racing through the closing mantra of "Monday, exclusive! Tuesday, exclusive!" at the end of "PS Exclusive" as if she was afraid the song would end without her.

Above all, though, the songs possess a terrific sense of spontaneity. "The Leanover" starts off small and timid and tentative,… read more »

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I was there

LachlanG

We were queued up outside the Annandale on a sunny early evening along with about 100-200 others waiting for the doors to open for their first Australian show. The singer stuck her head out the door and looked at the queue with amazement. She obviously couldn't believe that they'd come across to the other side of the world and there were that many people queueing to see them play. It was a fantastic gig and you could tell the band were genuinely into it. Curiously the singer used lyric sheets for almost every song, she should have just asked the crowd. There were many there who could have helped her out.

love this

lunchpail

infectious. one of the few live albums that you keep coming back to.

Riot Grrl without the unbearable dourness

belgiumbarn

A perfect and polar opposite compliment to the Huggy Bear singles comp. What I imagine they would have sounded like had they holed up with Clean records instead of Gravity and KRS. Really really good genre record.

Mixed Feelings

sparklecoogs

If you can tolerate lead singer Sue Tompkins' incessant shrieking, you'll probably love this. I find her incredibly annoying, especially the bits between songs, where she sounds like she's jacked on every amphetamine known to humankind. Her musings are a classic study in how NOT to engage a crowd. But the music is great, and that's enough for three stars. I think. In an ideal world, I'd have a huge mixing board in my home so I could either fade out the singing completely or at least reduce the volume by about 50%.

Boo hoo!

tkdcoach

A stammering Fanny Hill of my dreams, great wordplay, Sue Tompkins just makes me smile. One of the very best records of 2007 for me. And it was a very good year! Boo-hoo!

Fantastico!

scott-tulsa

Every now and this, something like LWB happens. Peppy little post-VU, Television-esque music with vocals that rip out of nowhere. Sue Tompkins rapid-fire, repeat-a-line, stressing-different-words (eg 'looking into your eyes, looking into your eyes') is about the most unique style I've heard in a while. Cynics will compare it with the Fall, but there's more to it. Try 'Love Trinity,' 'Sorrow' (love the four-minute random-spoke verse between two sweet choruses) and 'New Town.' Listening in into this 2002 show is like hearing from the dead -- the band is sadly long gone, with little hope of returning. Those handful of Sydneyians got a treat. I was tempted to cut off the eMusic subscription until I heard this.

Ignore the haters

bovinelife

Writing, as an Englishman in Glasgow, I can honestly say that their debut and only album "Any Other City" was stunning, at times emotional and funny. The live recording on this album adds a couple of tracks from E.P.s that were missing from Any Other City - and they lose nothing, in fact gain, from the faithfully sweaty recording here. In some ways I am glad they broke up too, not because they were bad, they were wonderful, energetic, arty, spunky and what's more DIFFERENT! Please buy the original album also. Seems like the other reviewer was expecting something a little more M.O.R.

Are You Kidding?

I15Driver

I downloaded this based on the review. It is absolutely terrible. I see why they broke up.

wow...

JonBonJon

If you're not sure, check out the songs streaming here: http://www.myspace.com/lifewithoutbuildingsuk

Ear Candy

MeMyselfAndI

This is a perfect example of a rare gem that I would've never found without eMusic. I'm not usually a big fan of live albums, especially from bands that I've never heard, but this one is an exception. It was ear candy from first listen. The staff review above pretty much says it all, so don't waste any more time reading my babble, and download it now.