Darren McLeod
07/25/06, 02:23 PM
Latterman - ...We Are Still Alive
Release Date: July 25, 2006
Record Label: Deep Elm Records
Latterman must be feeling a bit more pressure with the release of …We Are Still Alive than they did with any other album. Their first release, Turn Up The Punk, We’ll Be Singing received very little attention for the first two years of its release, and their breakthrough album, No Matter Where We Go…! didn’t receive immediate acclaim either. It was released with barely a blip on the proverbial radar, yet slowly a buzz started to build up after some glowing reviews (http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=104614) and mentions on many year-end lists (http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=103628). Suddenly, it seemed like Latterman was everyone’s new favourite band, and the announcement of a 2006 album, …We Are Still Alive, that would surface less than a year after their previous one led to excitement all over the punk community. And so, how does a band go about meeting such high expectations?
Latterman eschewed the “more mature and drawn out” route that seems so popular these days, and offer 10 tracks that could have easily fit on their previous record. The “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality is definitely in play here, as their brand of Hot Water Music-meets-Against Me! upbeat shout along punk is still very much intact, and there is very little to distinguish this album as different from the previous release. This is a double-edged sword – it makes the album immediately accessible to fans of the band’s discography, and the band has already proved that they can handle the style, yet it also makes it very comparable to the previous release, and, unfortunately, it simply cannot stack up to No Matter Where We Go…!.
That’s not to say it’s a bad release, in the least. It isn’t. In fact, it’s destined to make many year-end lists in 2006, and will no doubt serve its purpose as the perfect sing along record on that next road trip. The songs all sound extremely tight (and there isn’t a weak track to be found), and the production still fits like a glove, giving a raw edge to a disc that is packed to the brim with energy – the guitars, vocals, and drums all have plenty of punch, and the bass lines shine throughout. The global messages of change that were written with such wit and vigour on the previous record are replaced with passionate, albeit less clever, messages of personal struggle to find one’s place in the world.
However, even with all these positive aspects, there are a few missteps. The most noticeable is the length of the album – there are only 10 songs, and one is simply an instrumental. This instrumental track, “Dr. Sudholt and his Double Glasses,” really impedes the flow of the album. It is a slow track of guitar picking and noise (think: “Dear Boys” from the last album), and it is stuck right in the middle of the album, disrupting the pace.
It’s unfortunate that this release is ultimately going to constantly be directly compared to its predecessor. It is a strong album that fans of No Matter Where We Go…! will certainly want to pick up, yet doesn’t manage to reach the bar that the band set with the aforementioned album. Nevertheless, it’s still the perfect sing along record, and still captures more energy in the 27 minutes of …We Are Still Alive than most bands can usually manage over the course of their entire discography.
Release Date: July 25, 2006
Record Label: Deep Elm Records
Latterman must be feeling a bit more pressure with the release of …We Are Still Alive than they did with any other album. Their first release, Turn Up The Punk, We’ll Be Singing received very little attention for the first two years of its release, and their breakthrough album, No Matter Where We Go…! didn’t receive immediate acclaim either. It was released with barely a blip on the proverbial radar, yet slowly a buzz started to build up after some glowing reviews (http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=104614) and mentions on many year-end lists (http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=103628). Suddenly, it seemed like Latterman was everyone’s new favourite band, and the announcement of a 2006 album, …We Are Still Alive, that would surface less than a year after their previous one led to excitement all over the punk community. And so, how does a band go about meeting such high expectations?
Latterman eschewed the “more mature and drawn out” route that seems so popular these days, and offer 10 tracks that could have easily fit on their previous record. The “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality is definitely in play here, as their brand of Hot Water Music-meets-Against Me! upbeat shout along punk is still very much intact, and there is very little to distinguish this album as different from the previous release. This is a double-edged sword – it makes the album immediately accessible to fans of the band’s discography, and the band has already proved that they can handle the style, yet it also makes it very comparable to the previous release, and, unfortunately, it simply cannot stack up to No Matter Where We Go…!.
That’s not to say it’s a bad release, in the least. It isn’t. In fact, it’s destined to make many year-end lists in 2006, and will no doubt serve its purpose as the perfect sing along record on that next road trip. The songs all sound extremely tight (and there isn’t a weak track to be found), and the production still fits like a glove, giving a raw edge to a disc that is packed to the brim with energy – the guitars, vocals, and drums all have plenty of punch, and the bass lines shine throughout. The global messages of change that were written with such wit and vigour on the previous record are replaced with passionate, albeit less clever, messages of personal struggle to find one’s place in the world.
However, even with all these positive aspects, there are a few missteps. The most noticeable is the length of the album – there are only 10 songs, and one is simply an instrumental. This instrumental track, “Dr. Sudholt and his Double Glasses,” really impedes the flow of the album. It is a slow track of guitar picking and noise (think: “Dear Boys” from the last album), and it is stuck right in the middle of the album, disrupting the pace.
It’s unfortunate that this release is ultimately going to constantly be directly compared to its predecessor. It is a strong album that fans of No Matter Where We Go…! will certainly want to pick up, yet doesn’t manage to reach the bar that the band set with the aforementioned album. Nevertheless, it’s still the perfect sing along record, and still captures more energy in the 27 minutes of …We Are Still Alive than most bands can usually manage over the course of their entire discography.