THE LAST CRUSADE - SELF TITLED ALBUM
LONGSHOT/REBELLION
This Canadian-English Oi! group managed to squeeze out this LP before
their unfortunate demise. Calling it a day due to singer Karl’s job in the UK
ceasing, and also having to return to Canada for visa reasons, this is a more
than worthy statement and documentation on their shortish existence. Its been out a while
This is melodic “twangy” Oi! with a nod to The Templars. The catchy
“One of us” sets the tone (and with a start that is reminiscent of “Love
will tear us apart”). I loved their 7”
(which was actually a demo) and “Morally Bankrupt” which appears again here
gets a new life with the beefier production. There’s a salute to fellow ( also defunct)
Oi! Canadians with a cover of “Who the fuck are you?” “Deadbeat”, also from their 7” is ramped up
here.
This is great catchy singalong Oi! The artwork is great, nice innersleeve with
lyrics. Cover is totally 80’s, love it! On high rotation. It's been out a while (released late last year).
ALTERNATE ACTION –THE THIN LINE; THE COMPLETE DISCOGRAPHY
LONGSHOT/REBELLION/BORDS DE SEINE
I first stumbled upon this a while back when it cued itself
up on youtube after I’d played something else, and it immediately caught my
ear. I’d heard about AA through them having a split with MARCHING ORDERS ages
back, and through singer Greg Huff being in BISHOPS GREEN. Anyway, I was taken
with this straight away when I first heard it, and kept playing it on youtube,
swearing I’d break the vinyl only code
and look for a copy (was originally only released on CD in 2008). I kept
spending more $$ on records, and would often play it still on youtube. So when
I found out it was being released again on vinyl, well, fuck me, wasn’t I a happy little camper? Even better, managed
to get it here in Australia thru Resist before it was sold out. Happy Fricken
days eh?
Still can’t get enough of this shit. This is top shelf
catchy, melodic singalong Oi!/Streetpunk. Whatever, it’s just punk rock
eh? The jewels in this treasure chest
are the two openers “Dead End Street”, “Keep Running”, “Plastic Society”,
“Nowhere to go” on side 1, and “Thin Line”, and “Wasted Lies” on Side 2, but
hey, it’s all good. Greg Huff’s trademark yowl and underdog/working class
lyrics combined with snappy melodic guitars and choruses make this a winner. (Inspiration from the
likes of Sparrer and the Test Tubes are evident).
This is well worthy of a re-release on vinyl. I’ve waited a
while to get this, and worth the wait. Top shelf release, as per usual from
Longshot/Rebellion. If I could fault this in any way, I would have liked to of
seen a bit more info on the songs etc as this release is culled from various
releases and unreleased stuff, and perhaps lyric son the innersleeve. This
works well a standalone release album though (as a “proper album”, and not a
comp). For me, probably (re)release of the year.
chrismccousin@gmail.com
