Labels: Sunken Temple
Review by: Alex Deller
Talk about weird: 20 years after they shuffled off their mortal coil, the ghost of Long Island rockers The Last Crime rises in the form of a limited two-song cassette tape.
For those of you unfamiliar with the band’s modest oeuvre … until now just a CDEP/10″ … they sat nicely alongside contemporaries like Unwound, Threadbare, Drive Like Jehu and Hoover thanks to a fondness for lengthy, dynamic songs that seemed forever on the brink of emotional and physical collapse.
These newly-resuscitated tracks follow suit, but also suggest a band whose powers were rapidly evolving. The J. Robbins production job … full, cranky and grindingly heavy … serves the band well, with ‘Operate/Medicate’ opening up with a spacious, limber guitar part before slowly ratcheting up with minor-key riffing and off-key mumbles that ultimately descends into huge, shunting riffs and beleagured howls. ‘Man Vs Shark’ initially has a whiff of Fugazi’s ‘Cassavetes’ about it, but gradually develops into something more muscular as the stumbly, stuttery riffing pushes its way to the fore.
While brief as last hurrahs go, the results are eminently satisfying: heavy and surprising musically, but also emotionally resonant. Best of all, perhaps, is that in these days of endless reissues, endless nostalgia trips and endless inessential exhumations, the fifteen minutes of music here sound fresh and exciting on their own terms, regardless of what happened in the past and what has happened in the 20 years since they were originally committed to tape.
You can read an interview with Kevin Egan, vocalist/guitarist of The Last Crime here