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 LEATHERFACE-
The Last (BYO Records)
I hate to say it, but this disc teeters between not doing much for me and
being flat-out boring. The
reason I hate to say it is that from all I’ve read about these guys
(admittedly only stuff they put in their press kit), not liking this CD
means I don’t have an ounce of Indie credibility.
And oh, how I’ve longed for that ol’ Indie cred, and now
everything’s ruined! Most
of the songs on The Last seem like Husker Du without the hooks or bite.
Despite this, singer and primary songwriter Frankie Stubbs has a
remarkable voice- think Lemmy but more dynamic.
Leatherface has a song on this disc called “Shipyards” that
pairs Frankie’s growl with a scaled down piano, and it works well.
Unfortunately, the rest of the CD falls into the trap of too much
mid-tempo fuzzy (some may call it punk- I don’t) rock.
The Last was originally put out in Europe in 1993 or ’94 but never
saw the light of day here. It’s
been re-released in 2001 with 8 more tracks from a Stubbs side project
called Pope, giving me the impression that what I’m hearing now is
basically the equivalent of b-sides and rarities that would mainly be
appreciated by hardcore Leatherface fans.
As much as I’m not into this disc, I’m going to try to round up
another Leatherface release, hopefully catching them on their A-game,
before I make a final judgment. –Ben Hunter
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