“We don’t really have a theme,” says Brenna Red, singer-guitarist of The Last Gang.
“We’re just a bunch of punk rockers who like to make music and write about things that
make us feel good and angry and alive.”
“Good, angry, and alive” well captures The Last Gang as they release their third full-
length, Obscene Daydreams (Fat Wreck Chords, September 20). With 11 tracks of
sharply composed, no-punches-pulled punk, the album finds the Orange County quartet
—rounded out by bassist Sean Viele, guitarist Ken Aquino, and drummer Sam
Mankinen—in top form and ready to explode.
Recorded once again with producer Cameron Webb (Pennywise, Alkaline Trio, NOFX),
Obscene Daydreams is the result of a new, more intentional writing process.
“We’re not the kind of band that pumps out songs super quickly,” Red says. “We make
sure everything has been thought of and try to stretch out the melodies to something we
haven’t heard before. This was the first time we ever did something like that on a
deadline.
“I think we got it done, written, and recorded in less than a year, which is super-fast for
us,” she continues. “Cameron is always like, ‚You should do one album a year—the
Beatles did it!’ I’m like, ‚I’m not the goddamn Beatles!’”
Or NOFX, for that matter. Unlike on 2021’s Noise Noise Noise, Red didn’t workshop
the songs with Fat Mike, whose band obligations kept him busy.
“I was a little nervous, just because I know last time Mike really wanted to have some
input,” Red says. “So, I’m like, ‘God, I hope Dad approves.’”
“Dad” did approve, and Obscene Daydreams delivers The Last Gang’s signature mix
of melodic hooks and raw feelings. While outrage and defiance figure prominently in
those feelings—check the fury of “NRA Back 2 School” and “Hide the Antagonist,” or the
class cannibalism of “Dogmatic Capitalizer”—love and pride figure just as prominently.
Opener “Electric Avenue” is an ode to ride-or-die friendship, and “Madness” is a full-on
love song (or as close to one as a “nihilistic optimist” like Red can deliver). “Berlin to
Rome” celebrates life on the road, and “Rumors” finds Red flexing her bad-bitch self-
confidence. An interaction with a bigoted fan inspired “The Others,” forcing Red to make
clear The Last Gang’s LGBTQIA+ allyship—and sneak in a Star Trek reference.
“It’s called IDIC, Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations,” she says. “It’s like the mantra
of the Vulcan people, but I always love that phrase. Everything is possible out there—
every gender, love, belief, thought, reality.”
The authenticity of The Last Gang’s music lies in those lived experiences, whether
they’re nerdy Star Trek allusions or the “if you know, you know” details populating
“Electric Avenue.” Each Last Gang album is a journal of sorts.
“I’m going to predict this,” Red says. “Every album we write from here on out will be
about what’s happening at that current moment in our lives. So, it’s a reflection of
whatever happened to us for the past two, three years or so—and sometimes it’s the
same shit, different day.”
Even when that’s the case, The Last Gang will find something worthwhile to say.