Why has it suddenly become the norm for post-hardcore bands to reference Rush and Pink Floyd as a major influence? Has it become acceptable simply because Coheed and Cambria have ‘made’ it on the back of a singer who has ripped off Geddy Lee? Whatever it is, Cumbria’s Second To Last sound absolutely nothing like Rush or Pink Floyd, despite what their bio may try convince us otherwise. They sound more like a pissed off Million Dead, which is no bad thing – except Second To Last take too long to get stuck into what they’re trying to do. Clearly a talented band, this seven-track, their first release for Lockjaw, misses more than it hits and suffers as a consequence.
The main problem for me is that this EP doesn’t flow at all. Opener ‘I Used To Be With It But What It Is Now Isn’t What It Was Back Then And What It Is Now Scares And Confuses Me’ is a great song, but at five minutes in length it drags. The vocals scream and shout and the guitars twist and turn, and whilst it is interesting, by the time the instrumental ‘Longtitude of the Latitude’ spins round you’re left wondering why the stop-start pace isn’t a little more listener friendly. Perhaps swapping these two tracks around on the tracklisting would have been better.
The next few songs are again well performed, but don’t really stick out. The first few listens of this album just passed me by on the whole, although I think Second To Last would be a much more captivating outfit live. ‘Dead Actors Don’t Much Work’ sounds most like Million Dead and is arguably the band’s best song – it’s in your face and cocky; faster and more aggressive than much of the other tracks, it has a purpose and poise which makes more of a mark than the rest. Infact the song is only matched by ‘That Boy Ain’t Right’, which is another genuinely good song. Again it seems like the band are on a mission to make an impact, rather than drift through as the first half seems to suggest. There’s no doubting Second To Last‘s talent, and in a couple of places they really impress, but there’s work to be done if they intend breaking the mould.
www.secondtolast.co.uk
Lockjaw Records
Paul