Radio 4

Enemies Like This

When asked about his creative outlets and if there are any other creative
interest, vocalist and bass player Anthony Roman plainly stated "I play
bass and sing, music is my only creative interest" Of course, there were
passionate undertones in his flat out response.

"Enemies Like This" the album is an extremely tight creative expression
and Dave [the main writer] and his band mates do not disappoint. The
passion and energy of their live show is evident on all the songs in this
album. As all fans of Radio 4's live shows are aware, their shows are
nothing but pure energy and if you have not checked out their live show I
recommend you do, you won't be disappointed. You will dance your ass off
like no one is looking. After you dry off the sweat from all the dancing,
stop by the record shop and pick up "Enemies Like This." Below checked out
their song by song list from their press release.

ENEMIES LIKE THIS: SONG-BY-SONG

“Lyrically, we tried to be less overtly political and sloganeering,” notes
Anthony Roman of Enemies Like This. “We tried to write in a style more
influenced by the beat(nik)s and the idea of ‘spontaneous prose,’ whereby
the first thing you think of gets jotted down and considered. Often these
ideas worked themselves into the song. Of course there are
political/social ideas, but there are more personal songs than ever. I was
very into the idea that a political song could be a love song in disguise
or vice versa.”

1) Enemies Like This: The first song written with the album in mind and
also the first song we ever wrote with Dave in the band. We debuted it in
Tampa, Florida and three people came up to me and said it was the best
song we ever wrote. The "enemy” we're referring to is more the one that
you don't recognize. Basically it's about how people who should be your
strongest ally-like family and friends-often end up doing the most damage.

2) Packing Things Up On The Scene: Our interest in Bowie/Eno/Talking Heads
has been around for a long time but we never really incorporated it into
the sound. This is our attempt at that. It's about how corruption is so
ingrained in our culture that it is pretty much expected and accepted as
"normal." This puts unfair pressure on future generations - “the diamonds”
referred to at the end.

3) Too Much To Ask For: Debuted at a Hurricane Katrina benefit at Southpaw
in Brooklyn last August. Previously called ‘Government,’ Gerard came up
with the guitar riff, after which it took months to sort out the
arrangement. Simply put: food and shelter have to become human rights.

4) Grass Is Greener: Sonically I was thinking of the band House of Love
and how bands like them and The Bunnymen would write these really cool
sounding love songs. Re-worked in the studio from a tribal swirling thing
to a more German-influenced rhythm. Lyrically it touches on the idea that
when it's five o'clock in the morning you should just go home to the
person who loves you and not to the after hours.

5) Everything's In Question: A love song using military metaphors and
expressing the unease one feels living in western society. Stylistically
I'm real happy with this one because I think it may be the most unique
sounding song we’ve done. Great guitar work from Milone, who says it’s his
favorite on the album.

6) This Is Not A Test: Tribal funk workout with deliberately repetitive
lyrics. PJ came up with the big vocal part at the end, which is my
favorite thing on the record. Created late in the evening at Seaside
Lounge followed by cocktails at Buttermilk. Also recorded very live – we
really tried to get the feel of PJ and Greg and the bass happening at the
same time.

7) Ascension Street: Started out really fast, but works better as a reggae
vibe. We try to get into the reggae/dance-hall world at least a couple of
times per record. Lyrically we're talking about gentrification and the
arrival of corporate greed (i.e Bruce Ratner) in Brooklyn and how we need
a ‘freaky utopia’ for everyone to go - artists, musicians, Djs, party
people… the more the merrier.

8) Always A Target: Written on a piano on Fire Island, and features some
cool guitar playing by Phil Mossman of LCD Soundsystem. It’s a comment on
the commentators. What does Vonnegut say? Criticizing a work of art is
like putting on a suit of armor and tackling an ice cream sundae… Or
something like that.

9) All In Control: The last song written for the album, it had a funny
period where no one could agree on where the "one" was. Jagz gave it a
nice kind of MIA rhythmic quality that I really enjoy. The song is a plea
to those in charge: "Can you fix this mess already?" Some have called it
the weirdest Radio 4 song ever. We'll see.

10) As Far As The Eye Can See: A more positive take on the Katrina
disaster. There's also a bit of a Robin Hood thing going on. It was really
important that we conclude the album on a positive vibe and the ending to
this song is so uplifting there was no question it would close things out.
PJ, whose kalimba playing is just beautiful there at the end, calls it a
Bay Ridge groove. South Brooklyn!

Anthony Roman - bass, vocals
Dave Milone - guitar,vocals
Gerard Garone - guitar,keyboards
P.J. O'connor - percussion, vocals
Greg Collins - drums

Radio 4 Images: