By Jeremy Harris
If you like your music wrapped in a nice little package that falls within the lines of a certain genre, you can stop reading now. Is being an impossible to label band a band thing? Hell no, it's an excellent thing. Last False Hope is either genre defying or genre defining. I'm not sure which yet because so far I've only classified them as "good music." What I do know is that with "Dig Nails Deep," Last False Hope has found the perfect combination of blistering speed picking, powerful emotion and good song writing that throws the pain, sorrow and at times triumph of the members at you like a screaming rocket.
The album gets started with the fast paced "Day of Wreckoning" which is probably the best song to lead off with because it sets a tone with its hard hitting and fine instrumentation. You can instantly feel the energy that will carry throughout most of the album and you can tell that the album release date is truly the "Day of Wreckoning" for the members of Last False Hope.
Second on the album we find "Drinking You Goodbye," which comes in with a flurry of music and tamer (by Last False Hope standards) lyrics followed by a great instrumental break. Quickly the song builds into the energetic, make you wanna jump around type of song you'd expect to hear by now, and drops you off at track #3, "Alone, I Fall." This may be the most well put together song on the album. From the instrumental start to the great lyrics and the buildup of the overall power of the song that leads into "Goddamn You" and "Outlaw Girls." While these two songs share a couple similarities such as the fact that the lyrics are brought to you in a more traditional fashion with less screaming and a similar pace they couldn't be more different in subject matter and actually seem as if they go together in a way. It's almost as if you start with anger and end in a party without realizing the track has changed. Not a bad thing but I'd like to know if this was intentional or if I'm just nuts.
Up next we find the exact song that made me anxious for this album and also the song that lends its most powerful line to the title of the album. "My Marybeth" starts out with a fiddle hitting you with pure sadness and then comes in with more sadness in the lyrics. One of the quickest building songs you'll hear from any band. While not having the fast-pace of many of the other tracks on the album this is one of the most powerful tracks I've heard in a while and the idea to have Nellie Wilson sing the chorus as a duet is brilliant. The lyrics, the vocals, the instrumentation and the overall mix and layout make this the standout track by far and rolls right into "Wasted Nights" which also features Nellie Wilson with a powerful verse that will leave you spellbound by the the power of her voice. The song is a complete change in pace from the previous track but the transition is flawless and the power is there from the beginning.
"Guilty, Until Proven Innocent" comes in with one of the best lines on the entire album, "Oh lord give us health and strength and we'll steal the rest" and could be the anthem for the band as a whole with lines like "Never been the wicked kind, I'm just out there doing what I can to get mine."
Next up is the most violent 2:12 you'll ever hear that includes and banjo. "Tear it Out" is like an ass whooping delivered into your ears. It is hard hitting and violently drives its way straight and fast through the short track time.
Wrapping up the album is perhaps the best titled song, "Methlehem," but also the weakest song in my opinion. While it keeps the constant pace and energy of the rest of the track that you'd expect at this point I'm not so sure I can properly understand any two words that are sung together which makes it hard for me to get into the song as a whole. With that being said, I don't think I ever skipped the song and enjoyed the instrumental sections immensely and the static noises that are within the song are very cool also.
The final conclusion is that this is an awesome album and should be part of your collection if you're still reading at this point. Last False Hope should definitely see an upward trend in fans because of this album. Seeing them live, I knew they had tremendous potential but horrible album production based on their earlier release "The Shape of Bluegrass to Come." Thankfully in this release the production value provided by Shooter Jennings does not fall short and you are left with a true sense of what and who Last False Hope can be. In my opinion one thing they could be is the most versatile band out now. They could be at a bluegrass festival one day and opening for a heavy metal band the next and gain fans at either venue. Is it for everyone? Hell no, but if you like your bluegrass hard hitting with a heavy dose of punk then it's definitely for you.
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Dig Nails Deep is out today and available at Amazon.
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