The Last Gang Busts Out the Punk Attitude to Speak Out on Noise Noise Noise

by Isaac Kuhlman

4.3 out of 5 stars

The Last Gang is a punk rock band out of Los Angeles that has been putting out music since 2010, and they are getting more and more refined over time. That is even more apparent with the release of their new album Noise Noise Noise.

Man, this album has so many good things about it. It’s hard to say why I ultimately settled on 4.3 for the rating, but I think the only things I can say in my defense is that there may not be much different in sound or variety from the standard punk-reggae sound for me to put it higher. That may sound harsh, but I don’t think it is. I think there is a lot of good to be said about making a truly rocking punk album. 

I just don’t think every punk album that comes out is an automatic 5 or anything either.

That aside, let me dig into why I do think this is an awesome album.

First of all, there is a TON of passion in the lyrics and singing from Brenna Red. She really is a force to be reckoned with in terms of powerful vocals and written subject matter.

She tackles everything from climate change to systemic chauvinism to growing up a Cali-punk fan - oh, and there is definitely a critical scathing against the likes of an orange-colored former president.

The song “Gimme Action” is seemingly a violent song about equal rights (specifically for women) in which as Red explains via an exclusive with Brooklyn Vegan: 

The chorus was inspired by a woman named La Mulâtresse Solitude. She was born into slavery on the island of Guadalupe around the 1770s. A sailor raped her mother while she was being transported from Africa to the West Indies. Solitude saw the abolishment of slavery in 1794, but in 1799 Napoleon enacted a law reinstating slavery in the French colonies. A resistance was led by French officers of color Delgrès and Ignace against Napoleon's general. Solitude, a few months pregnant, was one of the people who fought alongside Delgrès and Ignace. Their battle cry was "live free or die," which they ultimately did. The French had won the battle and killed the resistance.
Except for Solitude, who was imprisoned until November, then hung one day after she gave birth. She's described as being a symbol of women who have fought to protect the ideals of equality and freedom.

One of my favorite songs might be “Prosthetic Lost Cause” with the line, “Are we simply mechanized to fail?” The song has a lot of relatability, and it is really short and to the point - and starts off with a ripping guitar solo.

I also really like “Paris Green” which is similar in subject matter to “WFTW” (We Fucked the World) in the sense that Red refers to humans as the earth’s virus that is eating it alive - which isn’t wrong by any means. In “Paris Green” the song is a less direct about how humans are trash, in my opinion, which makes it a bit more fun to listen to than “WFTW” - at least on record. I imagine that “WFTW” gets a crowd really rocking in a show.

“Shameless” is the song that specifically references the Mango Terror himself, and I do think it is important for bands to speak out against our elected leaders when they are not worthy of the office and/or make mistakes - which is what this whole song is about. When you can’t admit being wrong because your just a spoiled man baby, you can fuck right off!

All the songs on the album have good points to talk about, but instead of me dissecting every song, I will just say, you should get out there and listen to the damn thing!

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