Ted Leo & The Pharmacists

Ted Leo & the Pharmacists’ latest effort, “Living with the Living,” sounds distinctly familiar after a first listen. And after a second. And a third. It’s as if the ghost of music past is haunting the record.

The album’s tracks often feel like those songs you obsessed over as a teen: they were great then, but you now wonder why you ever made such a fuss.

Fans of Leo will be comfortable with the sound on many of the tracks, which present a recognizable blend of punk, ska, folk, R&B and rock through his usual pop filter. The ease and confidence with which the band plays is immediately apparent, though ultimately points to a much larger problem: Leo has, either with the Pharmacists or previous outfits, made this album before. The upbeat, four-minute tracks that once drove his records are now thoroughly unoriginal.

On “Living with the Living,” Leo fails to realize that his music is at its best when the melody is powerful enough to drive the listener through the chore of listening to his dense, though exceptional, lyrics.

Gone is the intelli-fun joy of “Me and Mia,” the lead track from 2004’s “Shake the Sheet.” There, within the same up-tempo pop format with which he’s now become with a bit too comfortable, Leo managed to compassionately address the struggles of those with eating disorders while producing a still-engaging sound.

Leo’s twee-like melodies now seem stale, and serve as deterrents to new listeners he hasn’t yet won over.

Songs like “Colleen” are inescapable on the new album. Boringly poppy, they are plagued by lyrics like, “Colleen / Never to be crowned queen / Never an evergreen / Floating above the scene / Still as a figurine / Expression is so serene / But I know it makes you scream.”

In times past, Leo’s lyrics revealed their subtleties slowly, offering the greatest of musical rewards—that is, for those who stayed with it.

“Living,” though, lacks the exciting qualities of much of his other music, and newcomers will doubtfully be interested long enough to maintain the attention “Living” demands.

Also as usual, Leo’s political inclinations come through strong. Tracks like “Army Bound,” “Bomb. Repeat. Bomb.,” and, “C.I.A.” are textbook examples from the hit-me-over-the-head school of songwriting.

Again though, the band’s mediocre musicality isn’t enough to encourage listeners to ever get to the lyrics. Even the less-conventional songs—“The Lost Brigade” and “The Toro and the Toreador”—aren’t interesting or experimental enough to warrant their length.

Leo’s albums used to be wonderfully, almost paradoxically accessible. “Living with the Living,” however, is low on the bygone balance between sweet song and sour lyric, and ultimately, isn’t worth the effort.