The Lillingtons – Can Anybody Hear Me? (A Tribute To Enemy You)

Enemy You were a staple of the punk scene, former members have gone onto to form bands we know and love such as Get Dead and Western Addiction, they released three full lengths, 2000’s Where No One Knows My Name, 2004’s Stories Never Told and 2008’s Fade Away, a couple of singles and were featured on an impressive number of compilations. The band appeared on Lookout! Records, Fat Wreck Chords, Panic Button Records, Red Scare Insustries and Nitro Records, and built a reputation for delivering melodic hardcore with an accessible pop punk edge. Suddenly, tragically and unexpectedly Enemy You‘s lead singer David Jones passed away in 2015, an event that led to a plethora of tributes to the fallen frontman.

This does raise the question of where do The Lillingtons fit into this? From the off the two bands were inextricably linked, David Jones and The Lillingtons, and later of Teenage Bottlerocket, frontman Kody Templeman were pen pals in the days before social media overtook the old school letter, they remained friends and contemporaries and even became label mates on both Lookout! Records and Red Scare Industries. On Can Anyone Hear Me? (A Tribute To Enemy You) you have a band who knew the late David Jones as well as anyone paying tribute to fallen friend.

So what do you get musically, well fans of both The Lillingtons and Enemy You, and let’s face it these are likely to be the same people, won’t be disappointed. You get five songs from the Enemy You‘s first two albums, all five tracks are delivered faithfully with the manic twist that you’d expect from The Lillingtons. This a fitting tribute to the late David Jones, each version does justice to the original and captures the spirit of Enemy You. There is also an additional track titled Untitled Yeebrah that brings a poignant end to the EP, with recordings of what I presume is David Jones voice over a discordant backing. A nice final touch is that the former Enemy You bassist Chris Matulich, who later went onto play with Nothington, handled the design and layout for this release.

“We were fans of David Jones’s music before Enemy You, but he was at his peak as a songwriter during that time. Those albums have always been special to us. David will always be special to us. We’re proud and honored to be releasing these songs along with Ken and Chris.”

Kody Templeman

Can Anyone Hear Me? (A Tribute To Enemy You) is now available on CD, that includes The Lillingtons‘ Project 313 EP, vinyl, including a first pressing on “Jones Hoodie Red”, and digital formats via Red Scare Industries and Bandcamp. A portion of proceeds from the Can Anyone Hear Me? (A Tribute To Enemy You) EP will be donated towards to National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.