The Last

Gin And Innuendos (SST)
by Ryk McIntyre

Back in the Jurassic period roughly referred to as “the ’70s,” there was this band called The Raspberries, who were too pop for FM radio and too sexually frank for AM radio, so they were played by neither, which was a shame, because they did pop/rock you could be proud of. The Last strike me the same way. A solid potion of powerpop, raw chords, and pure attitude, complete with the eloquence to sing their point, and with enough hooks to make you listen. This is a good one. Most of this review was done while cruising along in a convertible, blasting the CD out of great speakers, the sky a summer sunset, all warm and sweet melancholy red. Noisy children rejoice, this is an album that wants volume. The Celtic twang of “Drywood Town” makes you want to sing along, swinging a drink in your hand all the while. “Don’t Make No Sound,” “You Won’t Win,” and “The Time Is Gone (reprise)” all feed off the same promise: play us loud and bliss will come… And on the same disc we have such lover-perfect songs as “Sirens” and “Blessed,” all that love mixed warm and spicy. Sort of reminds me of BeBop Deluxe’s “Pictures of A Yorkshire Landscape” for that… y’know, that guitar sound. The Last were never all that well-known in their earlier days, so it’s great they’re back because there’s some tuneful pop-rock butt that needs kicking. Nice to see they came back wearing their boots…