THE LAST GANG, the wild sound creatures, have released their latest single.
The link to the new single "Berlin to Rome" is as follows:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHq9F9gW0wo
After recently performing with us, they will soon be shaking up the stages of America and the UK before they take the stage in L.A. in October alongside NOFX to support the final shows of the punk rock legends.
The band states:
"Berlin to Rome' reflects our experiences with touring and our affection for the incredible cities we have had the privilege to visit and play over the years. Our aging bodies have endured countless miles and the pains of long drives, but the thrill and unpredictability of the journeys keep bringing us back. Despite the physical and mental challenges, we would choose a grueling twenty-hour car ride over a suit and tie any day, and we will probably keep doing that until our bodies can’t take it anymore!"
"We don’t really have a theme," says Brenna Red, singer and guitarist of The Last Gang. "We’re just a bunch of punk rockers who like to make music and write about things that make us feel good, angry, and alive."
"Good, angry, and alive" is quite fitting as The Last Gang releases their third album, Obscene Daydreams (Fat Wreck Chords, September 20). With 11 tracks of sharply composed punk that doesn’t miss any punchlines, the quartet from Orange County, rounded out by bassist Sean Viele, guitarist Ken Aquino, and drummer Sam Mankinen, is in top form and ready to explode.
Obscene Daydreams was once again recorded with producer Cameron Webb (Pennywise, Alkaline Trio, NOFX) and is the result of a new, more conscious writing process.
"We’re not the kind of band that puts out songs super quickly," says Red. "We make sure everything is thought out and try to stretch the melodies into something we’ve never heard before. This was the first time we did something like this under time pressure.
I believe we finished it in less than a year, written and recorded, which is super fast for us," she continues. "Cameron always says: 'You should make an album a year - the Beatles did that! I say: 'I’m not the damn Beatles!‘"
Or NOFX, for that matter. Unlike with Noise Noise Noise from 2021, Red didn’t work out the songs with Fat Mike, whose band commitments kept him busy.
"I was a little nervous because I know Mike really wanted to contribute last time," says Red. "So I thought: 'God, I hope Dad is okay with this.'"
"Dad" agreed, and Obscene Daydreams delivers the typical mix of melodic hooks and raw emotions that The Last Gang is known for. While outrage and defiance play an important role in these feelings - see the anger of "NRA Back 2 School" and "Hide the Antagonist" or the class cannibalism of "Dogmatic Capitalizer" - love and pride play an equally important role.
The opener "Electric Avenue" is an ode to "Ride-or-Die" friendship, and "Madness" is a real love song (or as close as a "nihilistic optimist" like Red can get). "Berlin to Rome" celebrates life on the road, and in "Rumors," Red lets her sassy self-confidence shine. An interaction with a bigoted fan inspired "The Others" and forced Red to clarify The Last Gang’s LGBTQIA+ solidarity - and sneak in a Star Trek reference.
"It’s called IDIC, infinite diversity in infinite combinations," she says. "It’s like the Vulcan mantra, but I love that phrase. Anything is possible out there - every gender, every love, every belief, every thought, every reality."
The authenticity of The Last Gang’s music lies in these lived experiences, whether it’s nerdy Star Trek references or the "If you know, you know" details that appear in "Electric Avenue." Every Last Gang album is a kind of diary.
"I’ll predict it," says Red. "Every album we write from now on will be about what’s happening in our lives right now. So it’s a reflection of what’s happened to us in the last two, three years or so - and sometimes it’s the same shit, on a different day."
Even if that’s the case, The Last Gang finds something to say.
The link to the new single "Berlin to Rome" is as follows:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHq9F9gW0wo
After recently performing with us, they will soon be shaking up the stages of America and the UK before they take the stage in L.A. in October alongside NOFX to support the final shows of the punk rock legends.
The band states:
"Berlin to Rome' reflects our experiences with touring and our affection for the incredible cities we have had the privilege to visit and play over the years. Our aging bodies have endured countless miles and the pains of long drives, but the thrill and unpredictability of the journeys keep bringing us back. Despite the physical and mental challenges, we would choose a grueling twenty-hour car ride over a suit and tie any day, and we will probably keep doing that until our bodies can’t take it anymore!"
"We don’t really have a theme," says Brenna Red, singer and guitarist of The Last Gang. "We’re just a bunch of punk rockers who like to make music and write about things that make us feel good, angry, and alive."
"Good, angry, and alive" is quite fitting as The Last Gang releases their third album, Obscene Daydreams (Fat Wreck Chords, September 20). With 11 tracks of sharply composed punk that doesn’t miss any punchlines, the quartet from Orange County, rounded out by bassist Sean Viele, guitarist Ken Aquino, and drummer Sam Mankinen, is in top form and ready to explode.
Obscene Daydreams was once again recorded with producer Cameron Webb (Pennywise, Alkaline Trio, NOFX) and is the result of a new, more conscious writing process.
"We’re not the kind of band that puts out songs super quickly," says Red. "We make sure everything is thought out and try to stretch the melodies into something we’ve never heard before. This was the first time we did something like this under time pressure.
I believe we finished it in less than a year, written and recorded, which is super fast for us," she continues. "Cameron always says: 'You should make an album a year - the Beatles did that! I say: 'I’m not the damn Beatles!‘"
Or NOFX, for that matter. Unlike with Noise Noise Noise from 2021, Red didn’t work out the songs with Fat Mike, whose band commitments kept him busy.
"I was a little nervous because I know Mike really wanted to contribute last time," says Red. "So I thought: 'God, I hope Dad is okay with this.'"
"Dad" agreed, and Obscene Daydreams delivers the typical mix of melodic hooks and raw emotions that The Last Gang is known for. While outrage and defiance play an important role in these feelings - see the anger of "NRA Back 2 School" and "Hide the Antagonist" or the class cannibalism of "Dogmatic Capitalizer" - love and pride play an equally important role.
The opener "Electric Avenue" is an ode to "Ride-or-Die" friendship, and "Madness" is a real love song (or as close as a "nihilistic optimist" like Red can get). "Berlin to Rome" celebrates life on the road, and in "Rumors," Red lets her sassy self-confidence shine. An interaction with a bigoted fan inspired "The Others" and forced Red to clarify The Last Gang’s LGBTQIA+ solidarity - and sneak in a Star Trek reference.
"It’s called IDIC, infinite diversity in infinite combinations," she says. "It’s like the Vulcan mantra, but I love that phrase. Anything is possible out there - every gender, every love, every belief, every thought, every reality."
The authenticity of The Last Gang’s music lies in these lived experiences, whether it’s nerdy Star Trek references or the "If you know, you know" details that appear in "Electric Avenue." Every Last Gang album is a kind of diary.
"I’ll predict it," says Red. "Every album we write from now on will be about what’s happening in our lives right now. So it’s a reflection of what’s happened to us in the last two, three years or so - and sometimes it’s the same shit, on a different day."
Even if that’s the case, The Last Gang finds something to say.
