Blue Collar Beginnings!
It's fair to say that when you think of punk rock the state of Arizona isn't what at first comes to mind! However this is where we find street punkers Last Action Zeros, a band that give us a rawer slant on the new wave of punk rock with their album 'Blue Collar Biography'.
First song 'Can't Go Back Again' is a catchy number that sounds just like Time Again, (a band that they are currently on tour with across the States), with the usual Rancid influence, that you wonder why this band haven't been signed to Hellcat Records yet, later on we see this again in the brilliant song, 'Jaded' which has a catchy-as-hell guitar riff and addictive hooks. 'Bright Lights' give us some harmonica playing, something that is quite frankly missing from punk nowadays! It's a little bit of The Clash jamming with Total Chaos. We have straight up fast paced punk rock on 'Better Way' with gang chants to give it a bit more balls.
'Blue Collar Biography' can be a real bag of mixed nuts, just like with the song 'Boys Are Out' which has elements of Guttermouth when they are being more aggressive, with a military beat and quick deep vocals. We have more riot punk in 'The City', then after a nice chunky bass line, 'Punk Rock Girl' kicks in and you wonder whether this may be a little punk/pop, but no, it's slightly US Bombs with throwaway lyrics, but it's accessible and with chugging riffs, it's a little punk beauty.
Sometimes it is so punk, that it could border on clichéd, like in 'Forever The Same' where the lyrics go: "Always was, I'll always be // an outcast to society // my family and friends are all that I've got // so I'll do whatever the fuck I want ", whilst later on there is a nod at The Briggs on 'American Rebel', and 'Red White and Bruised'.
It's interesting that if you listen you can find elements of just about every punk band around, and whether this is a good thing, I don't know. At times the songs are a little too raw, although there is the basis of some great tracks here. Last Action Zeros are less commercial than the likes of Rancid, but have more leanings towards bands like Total Chaos, Dead Pets and just a hint of Time Again added in.
It could be said that Last Action Zeros don't always produce music that stands out amongst it's peers, and perhaps their lack of record label shows this fact, however, having heard demos of new stuff, I can tell you that they will not be label-less for long!
www.myspace.com/lastactionzeros
www.lastactionzeros.com