CW: Mention of sexual assault and related trauma when discussing New Skin (#7).
I’ve basically been waiting for months to write a review for the new The Last Gang album, and I’m so excited the time has finally come! Noise Noise Noise, the second album released under Fat Wreck Chords, was released on October 8th, produced by Cameron Webb (who also worked on their previous album, Keep Them Counting), Fat Mike (NOFX) and Yotam Ben Horin (Useless ID). In April 2019, I went to Dortmund to see Bad Cop/Bad Cop play. Dortmund is fairly close and easy to reach through public transport from where I live in the Netherlands. Also the ticket price was affordable to begin with, and somehow they managed to book eight bands ranging from local bands (Molly Punch, Detlef, Scherben) to international acts such as Not On Tour and, you guessed it, The Last Gang.
I’m basically giving you the music review version of food-bloggers that post recipes underneath their life story and I’m sorry. Kind of. TLDR: I love this band. Now, if you’ll allow me, please let me walk you through The Last Gang’s Noise Noise Noise.
We start off with the title track, one of the more reggae infused songs on the album. I’ll admit that I’m not too familiar with reggae, I quite like what they’ve done though! The choice to open with a track that is a bit more dreamy/laid back, instead of a song that blows through your ears like it just burst through your front door is an interesting one, something it has in common with the song itself in my opinion. It’s definitely not what I expected to hear with the title being ‘Noise Noise Noise’. When listening to this song, you can hear singer and guitarist Brenna Red wander through her memories of the scene she grew up in, that things aren’t the way they were back in the day. There are a couple of instances where the song really builds up, only to fall right back into its preceding energy-level. While that can be really frustrating in some instances, I think it really suits the song. Just as Red is about to snap out of her day dream-like state fuelled by these memories, it’s the music that drags her back into it. It makes the song haunting, in a way. Random note: the lyric “Take the 42 north past Electric to ride” makes me think of SNL’s Californians. No? Just me?
WFTW, the second track, stands for “We Fucked The World”. I decided to read the lyrics before I listened to the song for the first time and I’m impressed. The lyrics are quite dark, but they make it sound so catchy and fun! I wanna dance to this song about how the world is on fire and how it’s all our fault. You can tell that the lyrics have been written somewhere in the past year and a half. The song is a bit more upbeat, changing tempos here and there to let those reggae elements shine. I have a feeling we’ll get to hear more of it as the record progresses, but I think this song also showcases Brenna’s range. One moment her voice sounds very warm, a tad edgy (kind of like if Dan Andriano’s voice and Matt Skiba’s voice had a baby), a moment later she’s loud, on the brink of screaming. Around the midpoint of the song we are gifted a wonderful guitar solo by Ken Aquino. Although Ken is not an unfamiliar face if you’ve been able to catch the band live the past couple years, this is his first TLG record, as their lead guitarist. The outro is fairly long, which I didn’t really expect of the second song. It makes me wonder whether they’ll “come back”. They don’t, but I’m okay with that. We’re floating, slowly drifting away. Where to? Only the next track can tell.
The drifting quickly turns into the straight forward punk rock song Prosthetic Lost Cause. The band does a very good job in creating some sort eeriness and intensity in the verses, an ambiance I love to bathe in. The lyrics are interesting, as it deals with mental health issues and the side effects it brings along. It’s not a sad song though, it’s more about immersing yourself in that darkness and loving it. There’s definitely times during the periods I’ve been depressed where I felt a similar way. That I was able to see beauty in that darkness and that, in a way, I enjoyed feeling miserable. And although I think the song comes at it from a different perspective, I appreciate its content. The bridge brings back that floaty feeling I was mentioning earlier. The song is over before you know it though, a good one to put on repeat when you’re in a particular kind of mood (or any mood for that matter).
Enter Shameless, the fourth track. Remember Brenna’s exceptional voice I mentioned earlier? This is the track. The track is an homage to Trump if you will, haha. I’m sure we all have people in our lives, in politics or in our day to day, that are just downright horrible and we just can’t wait to see them crash and burn. It’s so frustrating when they just keep getting out of situations unscathed, keep getting away with their bullshit. If that sounds recognisable, this is your new punk rock anthem. It’ll help keeping your eye on the prize, taking the high road is overrated. You’re welcome.
Panic Dreaming starts off as a campfire-y song. Very minimal, just vocals and an acoustic guitar, later accompanied by bass. Not for long though, because the band quickly flips the switch and goes all amplified and out. The vulnerability of the acoustic part really suits the main question in the song: what happens after we die? It’s a topic most people don’t like to talk about and the mental cycles we can spiral into are scary. I love the timing of the heavy powerchords that come in as Brenna sings “Panic Dreaming Dystopia” because I think that’s exactly what that would sound like! It gets more upbeat after that though, because it would have been too heavy/confronting if the rest of the song wasn’t as darn melodic as it is. Special shout out to the backing vocals.
Gimme Action can definitely be classified as a call to, well, action. I can’t imagine this song not being inspired by the insurgence of the BLM movement we’ve seen this past year and I appreciate that. In the track by track breakdown on Brooklyn Vegan, Brenna tells more about the chorus and the story of La Mulâtresse Solitude. I don’t think I’ve heard about her before, but her story is both awe inspiring and grim. I really encourage you to read it, we don’t spend enough time learning about people like her and I’m glad I did (a little bit). On a lighter note: I usually have a hard time (compared to other instruments) distinguishing the bass from the rest of the music in songs. If you’re anything like me in that regard, this song makes it very easy for us to enjoy and appreciate Sean Viele’s bass skills and, for that, I am grateful.
New Skin really hits home. It’s kind of painful to listen to, because of how relatable and real it is. I don’t want to group survivors of sexual assault together with people who have not been in similar situation, but at the end of the day pretty much every woman or person of another marginalised gender has been affected by sexually transgressive behaviour or feel like they need to protect themselves from it. It’s also very powerful though, we don’t have to deal with this all by ourselves and that feeling of togetherness also resonates with me as I listen to this song. Musically and vocally it’s definitely a solid song, although I do wonder if it’ll be a track I’ll put on repeat a lot after writing about it. And for anyone who needs to hear it: you’re not broken, but it’s okay if that how you’re feeling right now.
We pick back up with Paris Green, a very cheery song about how the world is on fire: environmental edition. Money can buy you many things, but a liveable planet for future generations? We’re not quite there (yet… Fucking space race). I love all the different topics that have passed the review so far. Really makes you think about how capitalism/(neo)colonialism/imperialism is really fucking things up. *Puts on Gimme Action again.*
Second to last is Intelligence Is A Plague, referring to the time we live in where facts are considered opinions and vice versa. A very current topic unfortunately. The track is a bit grungy, I can’t quite put my finger on it and I don’t have the right words for it, but the guitar sound (I don’t know effect names) and the way Brenna Red sings really go there. The 6/8 time is cool too. If you’re a layman like me, that means that instead of dividing a beat in two, the one-and, it’s divided in three with emphasis on the first count. If that doesn’t help, you’ll hear it when you listen to the drums. Learning (together) is fun! But it’s kind of an odd track in that way, very different with all those different elements thrown together – very cool. If I hadn’t known any better, I think it would have made a good closer of the album. The lower tempo and the different vocal harmonies/backings really give the outro a very drifty feel and it could have easily ended there. But it doesn’t!
To The King has a bit of a dramatic/theatrical intro and I’m here for it. The album goes out with a bang though, because To The King is haunting in an enjoyable way. It has everything – lyrics you can belt out (that’ll be so much fun live), some final guitar-heavy showing off parts, range, drama and intrigue. I feel like it could be in a musical/rock opera. I think that, out of all the songs, the meaning/lyrics of this one is the most metaphorical which might also give it the more theatrical vibe I’m getting. It’s about pursuing ones passion and having to jump through hoops, having to compromise to be able to continue that pursuit. This song is surely not the only track where this is the case, but I have to point out Robert’s drumming. Not only do I think that it’s excellent, there’s this pattern/rhythm thing he does in several songs – for the life of me I have no idea what it’s called (cool story bro). What I do know is that I really like it and I’m always stoked to hear it. So Robert, whatever it is you’re doing, keep doing it! Anyway, great finish!
Overall opinion: amazing album. Some things jump out more than others, but I really like all the different elements that can be found when listening to Noise Noise Noise front to back. I’m sure as I listen to it more in the future, I’ll still find new things that’ll suddenly stand out to me. I pretty much always appreciate songs about social issues and, well, The Last Gang is just really good at doing what they do! Keep it up Gang!
Stream and download Noise Noise Noise here.
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This review was written by Ilse R. Smit.
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