I dare you not to love this album.  Heart of the land, Soul of the sea, by Edinburgh 6 piece, The Last Battle. Indie-Folk-Pop!?!? Call it what you like… it’s great when you find a little gem like this. Another one of those albums that I find myself annoyingly trying to force on others.

Heartfelt, simple and honest, both lyrically and musically.  Stripped back, beautiful ballads, laden with frustration, love, pain… and ships!

Ships are a recurring theme for The Last Battle. I sense the gnawing emptiness of growing up near a port, watching ships coming and going. Fitting metaphors of course, for the ebb and flow of our lives and the people who drift through them. As well as being a canny chanter, Scott Longmuir’s not a bad wordsmith either.

“I can feel the pulse, of this old place called home, beating stronger than ever, beating like my own…”

“Running through the station, down the broken escalator with my hands like shredded paper and a head of shattered glass.”

The album captures completely, the aching frustration of what could have been.

A couple of songs really stand out. There’s the glorious sing along sea shanty of Lifejackets,  “I’m jumping, jumping, jumping ship… and I’m taking all the lifejackets!”  and the haunting strumming acoustic guitar and beautifully dueted, Natures Glorious Rage. Ruins, is another belter… “Take my hand and walk with me…leave behind the relics of our old selves, forget all the sadness in those ruins…!” Great stuff!

So… what’s next… firstly don’t take my word for it, you can listen to Ruins, Whisky, Cutless and Any Ocean  here … on their myspace site along with the fantastic Ward 119, then you’ll want to buy it, so you’ll have to go here… then once these songs are ingrained in your napper, you’ll want to go see them play, so you’ll need to go here;

4^th Nov, Glitter Slug Presents. Edinburgh.

6^th Nov, Instore@Elvis Shakespeare. Edinburgh.

19^th Nov, Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh

1^st Dec ,The Lot, Edinburgh.

12^th Feb, The wee red bar, Edinburgh.

19^th Feb Sneaky Petes, Edinburgh.

All very handy if you’re in Edinburgh!!!… with dates further afield to follow. If I can persuade Howard to get off his arse, we’ll get one of these dates reviewed for the site.

By Dave on October 21, 2010