Last Orders: Postcards From West Auckland

By Ania Glowacz

Classic punk rock. Let's cut to the chase. Last Orders have indeed been around a while and this is what it is. Originally formed in the mid 1980s, two original members survive in the current incarnation - Tim (bass) and Greg (drums). The band's output prior to this release consists of an un-named demo cassette in 1986 and an EP in 1987 that ended up with the title 'Nightmare EP.' After only a few gigs the band split in '89, but Tim revived the band once more in 2000. This is straight up original punk rock (yes, like from the real beginning), that combines good ol' snotty three chord thrash with a bit of Oi attitude (the skinhead side of things), and as far as representing that flavour goes, this is excellent. Not taking itself at all seriously (drinking features quite prominently, as do jail, bad attitudes, cowards etc.), this is just fun! Sober Driver, Gone Too Far, Bad Parents, Rent A Crowd… you get the picture. It's mostly that UK sort of punk feel, but there's a bit of early Social Distortion guitar sound as well. The bass sounds particularly good. It's all there - the sing-alongs, the clinking of bottles in the background, and the killer intro to old song Geek (included along with two other re-recorded early numbers) which is an absolute punk rock classic to rival any of the originals a la Blitz, GBH…count 'em! An ideal soundtrack to a crate of beer or a party, this is classic punk at its finest and should be in any Kiwi punk's collection - young or old!

Related Information

Issues

NZ Musician

August/September 2008