Double Plaidinum,
LagwagonA quick glance outside will reveal that summer is finally beginning to put in an appearance. That, of course, means we are nearing the festival season in the UK. You may have noticed by now that here at Punktastic we like to take a look at some older albums from time to time. With Deconstruction looming on the horizon, what better time is there to consider the merits of headlining band Lagwagon, and their 1997 album ‘Double Plaidinum’.
Lagwagon are one of those bands that don’t fit easily into any one musical category, especially when you bear in mind the fact the band don’t consider themselves to be a punk band. However, the band are on a punk label, and are often found touring with other punk bands. So are they a punk band or not? What is true is that Lagwagon blend a number of musical styles together, mainly drawing influences from the worlds of rock, pop and punk. To be honest, who cares what label is attached to a band if they produce albums as good as this!
From the moment opening track ‘Alien 8’ bursts onto your stereo, complete with Joey Cape’s distinctive vocals, you know you are listening to a band at the top of their game. ‘Alien 8’ is one of the more traditionally punk songs on the album, and is also one of the best tracks the band have recorded. To be honest the first four tracks are of such a high quality, you wonder if the band can sustain it over an entire album. ‘Making Friends’ and ‘Unfurnished’ are both dripping with melody, but ‘One thing to Live’ is better still. It begins slowly with Cape’s vocals accompanied by a lone guitar, before picking up the pace for the majority of the song. It is a definite album highlight.
The middle portion of the album is good, but doesn’t quite match the highs of the first four songs. In truth, it would be asking too much of 99% of bands to have every song on the album worthy of classic status. However, all of the songs are solid and well written. There are tracks that do stand out though, in particular ‘Choke’ and ‘Smile’. To be fair the songs on ‘Double Plaidinum’ do remain consistently strong throughout, and this gives it the edge over the bands other efforts.
The last two tracks raise the standard back to the extremely high level of the first four songs. ‘Failure’ is the poppiest song on the album, but is so melodic and catchy you can’t help but fall in love with it. Album closer ‘To All My Friends’ again showcases the musical and songwriting talent of the band.
Five years after its release ‘Double Plaidinum’ remains Lagwagons best work to date. It is a consistently strong album that borders on the outstanding. It is an album that I always go back to, and only just falls short of being a classic. If you haven’t yet sampled the delights of Lagwagon then this is the best place to start.
Mark
