Under the Radar: Your Favorite Enemies

Imagine if all the preaching and ranting and raving that Rage Against the Machine did actually got something done? Maybe that's what it's like to be in Canada and a fan of Your Favorite Enemies.

Your Favorite Enemies (YFE to fans) are a five-man-one-woman metal band from Montreal, who, according to their bio, pride themselves on community values and dedication to human rights. Unlike RATM, that isn't as nakedly prevalent in their music (not necessarily a bad thing), but it's certainly an important part of what they do. The music itself kind of reminds me of a more metal-influenced The Who, with lyrics meant to empower and decry teenage helplessness. All that mixed with the kickass harmonies of lead vocalists Alex Foster and Miss Isabel (yup, they've got two lead singers). YFE have already released their first EP on their own record label, which sold nearly 30,000 copies. Not bad for having only formed in '06.

As for the music itself...well, I wouldn't be doing a feature on this band if I didn't love it. The way Miss Isabel and Foster blend on every song is unmatched. The rest of the band is pure balls-to-the-wall rock and roll. Top it off with the fact that I'm a sucker for music that can inspire and empower, and yeah, I'm sold. Of the tracks available on their MySpace page, "Sunset Blow" is far and away the best example of what YFE does well. "No Time Left For Confusion" features some incredible keyboards, and guitarist Sef (to my knowledge he has no last name) is just plain awesome on every track.

But YFE doesn't just do music. They've also got a video podcast on iTunes called YFE-TV. For the most part its just Sef being weird on camera, but it shows the band has a sense of fun beneath all the metal. Plus, they're one of the more interactive bands I've been in contact with. When the MySpace for the blog first started, they were one of the first bands to show support for VLM and they're pretty good with keeping in touch with fans, which I can't say about a lot of other MySpace bands.

YFE have an EP available on iTunes (link below) and will have an album out sometime this Spring. There's a download of "Midnight's Crashing" on their MySpace and in the link below, but seriously, go listen to "Sunset Blow". It's beautiful, in a hard rock sort of way.

Your Favorite Enemies - Midnight's Crashing [iTunes]
YFE on MySpace

==TJ==