Last Tuesday

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's LAST TUESDAY are a melodic pop-punk trio that plays energetic, mostly fast tunes in the vein of a hornless LESS THAN JAKE, RELIENT K (of whom vocalist Matt Thiessen helped produce this effort), and a hint of early MIDTOWN. These guys have been kicking around for almost six years now, and Resolve is their third release, but first to be distributed nationally. In a word, LAST TUESDAY's sound can best be described as "ambitious." Lead vocalist Steven Gee has a singing style that seems far more suited for the sunny pop of California, than one coming from Harrisbug, PA. The bouncy rhythms of drummer Chris Murk help fill in the gap left by the fact that this group has only one guitarist. Bassist Carl Emmons contributes strong backing vocals from time to time (especially on the seventh track "Armchair Sanctuary"), and his trading off with Gee is definitely one of LAST TUESDAY's most affable traits. Well-fitting keyboards mesh into a couple of tracks, which help polish already sterling melodies, and a piano adds some character on the building, six-minute plus finale. My copy of Resolve didn't come with a lyric sheet, but according to the band's "[the band's] goal is to defeat the message accompanying much of today’s music and a scene that is instilling self-centered‚ self-destructive behavior that will lead our youth to violence and depression." In other words, there are no lyrics about black lips and crossed out eyes. Overall, LAST TUESDAY's committment to high-flying pop-punk is refreshing, but I think there's still something missing from their recipe. The hooks are there, and the musicianship is spot-on, but Resolve falls just short of becoming a compelling listen. - Paste Punk / Jordan A. Baker

Last Tuesday - Resolve
Track List:
1. Have You Seen Me?
2. All These Things
3. It's Not Too Late
4. Today Was Long
5. Beat Dependent
6. Me First
7. Mission
8. Armchair Sanctuary
9. Everything So Far
10. You Got Me
11. I'll Never Understand
12. Empty


Label: Mono vs Stereo Rating: 3.0

REVIEW:
I have been flooded with new music recently, it seems like every band is coming out with a record this year. Last Tuesday is no exception. Their new record "Resolve" was just released on Mono Vs. Stereo. Sing-along choruses and up-tempo verses seem to be the norm throughout the disc. The album can only be described as pop-punk, but not the sugary-sweet kind ala New Found Glory. No, Last Tuesday are more reminiscent of No Use For A Name and Lagwagon.

The record keeps a pretty steady tempo. It keeps your head bopping up and down for a good 30-something minutes. The music is straight-forward, nothing complex or different here. Palm-muted power chords, full on distortion, you name it. If you listen to this kind of music, then most likely you've heard everything on this record already. Last Tuesday may play a clichéd style, but their songwriting is near flawless. They execute perfectly on each track, making every individual song just interesting enough to listen to the whole way through. It's definitely one of those records that would be great to blast in the car. Some stand out tracks are: "Have You Seen Me Lately", "It's Not Too Late", and "Empty."

3/5

RIYL:

Midtown
No Use For A Name
Lagwagon
Rufio

-Alex
- www.decoymusic.com / ALEX