Review: The Last

The Last
“L.A. Explosion”
(Bomp!)

The Last is, some ways a first. The group of the late ’70s is a surf-punk amalgamation well salted with bright, memorable lyrics. At the time, The Sex Pistols had not yet come to be but Blondie and The Modern Lovers were beginning to give rock some new life. Joe Nolte from his vantage point on the West Coast sought to infuse surf-pop with mid-’60s psych-rock for something more vital.

This is a reissue of the band’s debut album, originally released in 1981 on Bomp! Bonus tracks and liner notes from Nolte himself make this a worthy and important document about the nascent West Coast punk movement of the late ’70s and it is certainly a pre-punk power pop gem with psychedelic roots.