Review Archive: L

Lag Wagon  

I've never been a huge fan of Lag Wagon, so it's no surprise that this falls into the "it's not bad, but it ain't great" category. They've got the fast poppy-punk style that the kids love, but their songs tend to blend together. Let's Talk About Feelings starts off pretty good and barrels through song after song, but by the time you're halfway through it starts to become a bit repetitive. The final song (inspired by the amazing book A Prayer for Owen Meaney) is a bit of a departure for Lag Wagon, starting off kind of slow with a cello accompaniment progressing into a cool extended intro, before finally speeding up to the Lag Wagon-style. At least the album ends on a strong note.

Staja 98 L.E.S.  

Lower East Side Stitches play some pretty good British-style punk (along the lines of UK Subs and harder Clash stuff). Overall the album is fairly catchy and listenable — the only thing that prevents me from really recommending this band is the lyrics. While some are just bad (from "Disgusted": "My friend stabbed me in the back and let me tell ya how it feels/Feels real shitty"), others are so inane that it's painful to listen ("Jungle Man": "What do I see up in a tree/Another motherf*cker trying to pee on me/I pick up a rock, hit 'em in the cock")...why they included a lyric sheet with the CD is beyond me. But if you listen to the album while busy doing something else so you can't concentrate on what they're saying, it ain't bad at all.