Leatherface

The Last (BYO)
by Tim Den

Mighty Leatherface‘s most daring record (also their shortest, as well as their last before breaking up for six years) is getting a deserved rebirth, and I’ve got it on repeat. The Last, at eight songs, captures the band’s adrenaline, alcoholic nostalgia, and workingman’s blues at every turn. Even at mid-tempo (arguably the band’s most effective pace), you don’t know whether to pogo along or sit and sulk (“Little White God” being the best example). Amidst the punk romanticism/fury, Frankie and co. manage to throw in a piano tune (“Shipyards”) and a jazz mockery (“Ba Ba Ba Ba Boo”). Not bad for a band best known for twin guitar assaults and raspy screams. One complaint… Why the extra eight Pope (Frankie’s post-Leatherface band) songs attached at the end? There’s not even a notice to separate the two collections. Not only does this compromise The Last’s blitzkrieg brilliance, it will also confuse fans of the band’s lineage (no, Chris Mackintosh never replaced Andrew Laign in Leatherface).
(PO Box 67A64 Los Angeles, CA 90067)