Lagwagon
Let’s Talk About Feelings (Fat)
by Tim Den
More than any other band on Earth right now (considering the break-up of Faith No More, the less-than exciting new material from Iron Maiden and Slayer, and the slowly slipping Bad Religion), Lagwagon, in my opinion, deserves to be called “the best.” No, I’m not crazy, although I might seem so to those who have always considered these guys nothing more than just another pop-punk band. For those non-believers, lend me your ears (uh, I mean eyes) for a while, and allow me to prove the validity of my claim. What most listeners fail to see in this masterpiece of a band is their ability to expand the world of melodies with each album, taking punk – hell no, the entire concept of pop – to new (yet still accessible) realms. With each release, Joey Cape and Co. have explored the endless possibilities of combining technicality, speed, groove, dynamics, word-play, harmonies, and vocal lines. With seven years of exploration behind them, I’m ecstatic to say that they have finally perfected it with their fifth and best record to date, Let’s Talk About Feelings.
All in all, Let’s Talk About Feelings shows the band at the top of their game, fully in control of the musical style that they came out of yet unafraid to expand. By learning to combine the dizzy technicality of their earlier work (Duh and Trashed) with their vocal-driven, newer material (Hoss and Double Plaidinum), Lagwagon has perfected an adrenalized, meaty mixture that is both elbow-swinging fun and tear-jerking introspection. For anyone who has yet to experience the blinding power this band is capable of harnessing, I suggest you get this before your pathetic life ends. Believe me, going before you’ve had a chance to sing along to the ‘Wagon’s anthems at the top of your lungs would be the ultimate mistake.
(PO Box 193690 San Francisco, CA 94119)