Living Things Run with Ahead of the Lions; Full CD Set For Release Oct. 4 on Jive Records

NEW YORK (Jive Records) - "One of the most ferocious straight-ahead rock albums since Nevermind," wrote Brian Raftery in Spin magazine last April, describing the work of Living Things, a band of three brothers from the socially conservative suburbs of St. Louis. They are Lillian (vocals, guitar), Eve (bass) and Bosh Berlin (drums).
Living Things will release their debut full-length album, Ahead of the Lions, Oct. 4, 2005, via Jive Records.
Recorded by Steve Albini (Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Pixies), Ahead of the Lions was tracked and mixed in St. Louis, Chicago and Stockholm. "Bom Bom Bom," the lead track from the album, will be supported by a video directed by the much-respected Floria Sigismondi. (She has also directed videos for two other tracks on the album.)
Living Things released an EP called Turn in Your Friends and Neighbors (DreamWorks) in March of 2003. It was followed later that year by a 10-inch EP, released in the U.K., titled The Blackout Generation (Loog). Both were recorded in Chicago by Albini.
During the past two years, Living Things have crisscrossed the U.S. and Europe, opening for bands as diverse as Velvet Revolver and The Libertines, Melissa Auf der Maur and The Vines. Along the way they picked up Corey Becker, a friend from St. Louis, to add additional guitar on the road.
Living Things are distinguished, in part, by their lyrics, written by Lillian, the band's chief provocateur. As noted by Robert Christgau in the Village Voice: "Lillian Berlin is Johnny Rotten with politics. His art would be nothing without his rage; he's so possessed by the need to get his point across that he grabs his brothers' music by the throat and makes it bellow his tune" (May 10, 2005).
In addition to Ahead of the Lions, Lillian has authored a book, "Post Mortem Bliss" (Apocrypha Press), due this fall. It explores his life from 13 to 19, a period marked by his being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, his subsequent addiction to anti-depressants, and his tenuous coexistence with an anarchist mother and homosexual father. Excerpts will be posted on the band's Web site: https://www.livingthingsmusic.com , to be re-launched soon.

"Mainstream culture is a bigger threat to anarchy than anarchy is to mainstream culture." - Lillian Berlin