The Last Gang – Keep Them Counting

Orange County punk rockers The Last Gang are a modern breed of old school punk sensibilities packaged and set for discovery by today’s audience.  With bands like The Distillers and Rancid now living being behind a generational barrier, The Last Gang serve to keep the crusty-with-a-side-of-pop-punk sound alive without strictly living in the past. The band’s Fat Wreck Chords debut, Keep Them Counting, offers up ten tracks of raw but catchy anthems sure to garner appreciation by punk fans old and new.

Lead single “Sing For Your Supper” made a previous appearance on the band’s prior introduction to Fat Wreck Chords on a double track single of the same name, but it’s well worth revisiting as Keep Them Counting’s opener.  Brenna Red’s vocals are raw but seasoned, and highly expressive to the point of conviction. With choruses bolstered by backing woah-oah vocals and rumbling bass, the song’s message of self sufficiency and resistance stands strong.  It’s a strong lead anthem, and settles naturally into the quicker an dirtier follow up “Blood Drunk,” which highlights the band’s creative lyricism in lines like, “hollywood hours and ivory towers, bootless journey for poetry sours like me.”  “Strange Fruit” explores a lurching beat that’s hard hitting and particularly empowering in its increasingly melodic chorus.  “Affairs To Remember” particularly echoes that sense of strength with Red’s vocals landing amidst full-bodied riffs in a cutting, no nonsense style of delivery.  The album ends with the passionate strumming of “Secret Sounds,” which channels a sunny day LA vibe without sacrificing the attitude that The Last Gang established early on.

The Last Gang’s dual mandate is both uplifting and empowering, ensuring that Keep them Counting fits the bill as a well produced, straight forward punk rock record with heart.  Fans will note that both the band and record are a natural fit for their new home on Fat Wreck Chords, and if Keep Them Counting is any indication, a healthy relationship for that should make for a plentiful yield from this Orange County trio.