Backyard Babies
Makin' Enemies Is Good

2001. In Nassjo, the hometown of the Backyard Babies, the chaos generated by the album that raided Sweden three years earlier, that is "Total 13", has now passed. But the four rockers, after a tour in Europe and Japan, went back to work to bring joy to fans and win over others, resulting in "Makin' Enemies Is Good", an album that made them even more known, made them loved (always on their small scale, they weren't and aren't world-class stars, but in Sweden their albums remain at the top of the charts for months...) and also made them targets of criticism.

Let's start with the description of their effort, which begins with an introductory track (just like the following album, "Stockholm Syndrome"), with a title that says it all: "I Love To Roll" "...Sex... say what? Drugs... say what? Rock!! say what? I love to roll with that!!" Well, the song has a very glam riff, and in the vocals, we find a woman asking "Say what?" to the group, who sing in chorus. Great start, fun and cheerful. We move on to "Payback", certainly the most aggressive song on the album, where Dregen (the lead guitarist) and the singer sing the chorus in unison. Note: compared to the previous "Total 13", the singer has improved, as you can tell right away, less monotonous (even though thanks to the fantastic tracks on that album, you didn't feel it much), also thanks to Dregen's accompaniment, who makes an impression with his clear and high voice. After the bomb of the second track, we come to the single that is still happily played on rock TV today, which is "Brand New Hate", track number 3. It's the diamond of the album, catchy, original, with a strangely artificial sound that nevertheless doesn't clash (I'm not very versed in guitar unfortunately, please don't insult me...). The song has a slowdown in the middle, after which the superb solo by the guitarist starts, powerful and devastating despite (forgive the rhyme) its short duration. We move on to a slower song than the first three, "Colours," a beautiful piece where the desire to kick ass with riffs, scratchy solos and "eccentric" phrases makes way for a calm atmosphere (note, it's still a rock song, with well-present drums and guitars) where the singing is calmer, and the chorus fits in right away, almost as if it's been known for a lifetime: "Some Things Are Not Just Black And White, Somebody's Gotta Shine In Colours And It Could Be Me..." I believe it's an underrated song, perhaps due to the expectation of a "shatter-all" album that many had, and they didn't accept an equally high compositional care but with a different mental setting, which made way for more classic and less fast rock songs... Track 5 is "Star War", written and sung by the guitarist, Dregen, (still accompanied by the lead singer) perhaps the least interesting of the album, but the beautiful voice and the originality of the piece are still appreciated. We move on to the sixth song, the second single of the album, darker than the hit "Brand New Hate", but equally scratchy, certainly catchy. The group shows reassuring maturity, with exceptional compositional peaks, a taste that manages to combine power with catchiness and fun, surely a rare gift. We have to stop at track 7, "My Demonic Side", also a very convincing and successful piece, very, very well done, with a chorus that is in some ways obvious and predictable, but will certainly please... "Would You Follow Me To Hell And Back? Are You Livin' In A Brocken Dream?..." Each song is never monotonous, never in punk style, with riffs repeated to the point of nausea, but verses and choruses give way to rhythm changes, never out of place solos, and the vocals follow the music very well.

Ok, I'm dragging this out too much... Track 8 is another fast-paced and energetic song: "The Kids Are Right", with a chorus that gets stuck in your head and doesn't come out. It follows "Ex-Files", which attempts to replicate the success of the slow from "Total 13" "Highlights", succeeding only partially: the result is an excellent song, but perhaps too predictable, it doesn't take off, and it doesn't create an engaging atmosphere... pity.
"Heaven 2.9" is one of my favorite tracks, cheerful like few other ByB songs; the urge to jump around the room is strong, as is the urge to sing lines, chorus, and to imitate the gestures of the beloved Swedish rockers at the top of one's lungs. The last three songs are a separate discussion: tracks 11 "Too Tough To Make Some Friends" and 13 "Bigger w/a Trigger" are powerful and direct, but don't differ much from previous tracks. I'm not saying they're to be discarded, they are good songs that are very pleasant to listen to, but our friends could have been a bit more imaginative, given their significant musical talents. An exception is the wonderful ballad "Painkiller", with a different composition compared to all the others; it definitely lacks a splendid chorus, but both the length, over 5 minutes, and the atmosphere created set it apart from the other songs of this "Makin' Enemies Is Good", a beautiful and convincing album that marks even a slight turning point for this band born with Glam.

Now it's up to you, I loved their music, I still love it, but I don't demand either a smash-it-all album or over-the-top songs. If, like me, you don't have these prerequisites and just want to enjoy a bit of Rock 'n Roll, then this band and this album are for you.