Last week I completed a short review of this 7" from Last Lights to be posted on the site. It was short and to the point but just didn't emit what makes this record so good. And then over the weekend the band's vocalist, Dominic Mallary, passed away at the age of twenty-four after performing at a local show. The tragedy of his death is a hard pill to swallow; death is scary enough as it is, but when it's someone this young it's even harder to wrap your head around.
Over the past several months Dominic and I had corresponded in regards to happenings with Last Lights. By no means were we close friends, merely two individuals that crossed paths with a shared passion for music and a mutual respect for each other. He sent me their demo and after listening to it, I was instantly drawn to what Last Lights was offering, particularly the lyrics penned by Mallary. I was quite pleased when he offered to send a copy of their new 7" and even more enthused when I put it on my record player and read along as the sounds blared through my speakers
It didn't take long to compose a review; it never is when it's something that you instantly love
but in light of these recent events I felt it was important to emphasize my feelings on this record.
A five-song 7" that lasts about fifteen minutes - that includes flip-time - a review for this 7" shouldn't extend more than a few sentences. Normally you'd be right, but Last Lights is the best piece of wax to hit my mailbox in quite some time. "There's No One Good Enough to be Alone" kickstarts the record with its searing guitars provided by the tandem of Jesse Menard and Andrew Nordstrom. Meanwhile the intensity of Mallary's delivery adds further fuel to honesty told in his lyrics and the high-octane musical assault supplied by his bandmates. The mid-song breakdown is nostalgic of early 80's hardcore with the lonesome shouts of Mallary before the rhythm section of Rich Davis (bass) and Jesse Conway (drums) bring the song back in.
"Everybody's Working for the Weak End" is equally as heated in the modern Boston hardcore sounds of a Panic, but it also boasts the infusion of the punk sound and attitude delivered by pioneers like Black Flag and even The Stooges. But the highlight is truly the words:
And I'm sick of feeling like I'm fucking dead: school, work, debt, dread / Every cul de sac is another dead end / Every morning I wake up looking down on a day so shallow that I can't even drown / Tell me, is this all there is? / Tell me, is this all there is?
Lines like these are as relatable as any I've ever read; it was as though we were sitting across from each other having a deep conversation with one another. "U.S. Out of New England" follows and reminds of the Ceremony demo with its anger and frustration with life spewed forth in every word uttered while the band just shreds. "The Dream Homes of Insomniacs" and "No Future (The Children's Crusade) on the flip-side are more of the brilliant, dissonant, and noise-tinged hardcore heard on the previous side. While the music gnashes and bites, the lyrics send you into deep thought,"...I won't buy the lower middle class lie / I won't sign up for that slow suicide..."
I know this album isn't perfect, but the music recorded and the lyrics penned are only part of what makes this album great. Sometimes an album just has an effect on you; sometimes an album just comes along at the right time in your life. I don't expect everyone to take away the same feelings from this album as I do, but when I look back on my life some thirty years or so from now I know that I will be able to pinpoint the impact that this record had on me
and that's a feeling that I know everyone understands, whether it is from a song heard, a book read, a conversation shared with another individual, a speech overheard, a painting viewed, etc.
