If it's true that bad times make for great music, Leo's ready to capitalize. One part punk protest poet, one part stylish rocker, Leo's Living with the Living is that shot in the arm the left wing needs to survive in this world of war, recession, civil liberty curtailment and shadow governments.  Full text...

Living With The Living announces itself as another fiercely satisfying Leo record with "The Sons Of Cain," but as on his previous albums, Leo is at his best when he holds off on gratification. Living takes up plenty of room for that, running at a full hour—the longest Leo/Pharmacists album yet, and 20 minutes longer than his last, 2004's Shake The Sheets.   Full text...

The anti-military and anti-government sentiments still flood Leo's lyrics, but the musicianship on this release has been greatly increased. Produced by former Fugazi member Brendan Canty, LWTL is a glorious trip through the historic beginnings and heydays of such movements as punk, Springsteen-style rock, ska, and even reggae.  Full text...

All of his music is good for your mind and soul.  Full text...

Living lasts a full hour with its 15 tracks, which may be a bit much for some people in one listen, and there are a few throwaway tracks, truth be told. However, the material is so diverse that it’s closer to a well-made mix CD rather than your standard full-length; and when the songs are this good, it's easy to live with.   Full text...

Living with the Living is like a roller coaster ride, with enough musical flavors to make Baskin-Robbins jealous. And somehow Mr. Leo holds it all together, as he and his Pharmacists dispense 15 prescriptions that run the gamut from safe to really daring.  Full text...

While some of Living With the Living isn’t the group’s most appealing work (its second half feels almost like another band), its best moments are brighter than most anything they’ve done before. Mr. Leo truly has a gift that eludes all but the most renowned songwriters, and it’s a shame he’s not yet in the same public consciousness that embraced The Boss and Bob Dylan in the States, or Paul Weller, Ray Davies and Shane MacGowan in the UK. Don’t miss out on it.  Full text...

Living with the Living is Leo's most diverse album yet, a sort of musical "This is your life," where the artist revisits styles and forms that he's loved in the past.  Full text...

The album features Leo's most meaty and confidant singing to date. The tracks are equally urgent, wistfully melodic and cleverly insightful. A dynamic confidence sparkles throughout: Leo throws in an expressive guitar solo, chanting vocals or an Irish bagpipe, without ever becoming overindulgent.  Full text...

Living With the Living might not be his absolute best record but it’s still a pretty f&%$#ing good one.  Full text...

With a three year interval and a new label, the band sounds more expansive and confident as a trio, giving us yet another solid release.   Full text...

Sounding like The Wedding Present might have sounded had David Gedge been born on the East Coast of America, Living With The Living is as bracing as anything produced by that particular harbinger of romantic doom in his early period, but with the kind of political fixations that made Billy Bragg a star. Well, nearly a star.  Full text...

New material from D.C. artist Ted Leo impresses and pleases through first two thirds, falls apart and drones on through final section.  Full text...

This is a bloated, overlong rock record that shouldn’t have even considered breaking the 40-minute mark. It breaks that cardinal rule like Bane broke the back of The Bat.  Full text...