It seems Last Hounds have found their feet with latest record Burden. Having honed and developed their sound over two EPs and two full lengths since 2013, their direction seems stronger and more secure. Skilled songwriting craftmanship comes to the fore with the slick dynamics of tracks such as ‘Slow Burn’ and ‘Extraordinary’ as the album leads the listener on a non-stop journey of uptempo feelgood punk.
There’s a little bit of something for everyone, but fans of classic punk and hardcore will feel most at home and satisfied amongst this collection of fun tracks. The beginning of ‘Handmade’ has a bit of an early Nirvana vibe in the opening verse whereas ‘Running With The Dead’ has BMTH tones during the chorus. Mostly, they’ve been compared to the likes of Comeback Kid, and Gallows during the Frank Carter era which seems a valid comment. It’s high energy hardcore with big choruses. Filling a void in the current scene, Last Hounds tick all the right boxes – songs that go hard but also have soul and earworm potential. The lyrics are clear and understandable, the chorus lines and hooks repeated just enough to get stuck in your head and the melodies easy to sing along to.
“a non-stop journey of uptempo feelgood punk”
Opener ‘Snakeskin’ is the classic example. They’re not going to shed any Rattlesnakes comparisons with a title like that but the chorus is a killer and it’s a strong opener to the album. Then there’s the epic singalong of ‘They Say’, a rollicking huge highlight of the record. ‘Lay Me Down’ and ‘Do Or Die’ are another two tracks with great singalong moments.
Unlike some albums, there’s no mid-point dip, there’s no slow song, there’s no ‘we’re going to take it down a sec’. It’s all up there on that constant energetic high ready to smack you in the face. Packing a punch is just about the overarching theme of the album. ‘Balaclava’ is all about the huge riffs and the existential lyrical content of the breakdown, questioning the society we live in. It also has some powerful backing vocals. There’s plenty of trad-punk lyrical content littered across the record in general and, frequently delivered in their natural Midlands accent, it just adds more automatic swagger.
“It’s all up there on that constant energetic high ready to smack you in the face”
Ending with a classic under-one-minute fast punk number ‘Innocence’, one is left feeling slightly breathless at the end of Burden. In a live environment you’d probably be drenched with sweat. It’s easy to tell Last Hounds have honed their sound playing shows. They’re tight, demanding, gruelling. They know where to hit the peaks and troughs of a song, to bring it down then bring it back up again. It would be interesting to hear them do this over the course of an album, perhaps throwing in a couple of slower or mid-tempo songs and further experimenting with their sound and pushing themselves in new directions. Their songwriting could handle it. Burden is a great little album to slot in your collection. It’ll be interesting to see how the band develop further in the future now they seem settled and comfortable in their (snake)skin.
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‘Burden’ is out October 22nd via Venn Records.