Last man down

Last Man Down  - State House Kid (1985) ***

Nominated by: Kevy

Music club: Wander to Wozza's

Playlist addition:  Edmond's Sure To Rise

I can hear GK's voice already - comedy songs are tricky. These songs by Ross Mullins are as Kevy says - 'witty and poignant sketches of New Zealand urban life'.

The problem with witty (a.k.a. comedy) songs is that you run the danger of producing limited shelf-life songs that outwear their welcome after a couple of listens.

Ross is cunning though. He marries these vignettes of Kiwi life to cool jazzy laid-back grooves. So, he almost gets away with it. 

Given it was done in 1985, it almost seems to be celebrating/ commemorating a kiwi way of life that had already passed on by 1985. The rugby, racing, and beer side of NZ's culture and talk of TABs, Dawn Raids, Edmond's cookbooks, and anachronisms like Foodtown, RSAs are certainly passé in 2024. Just saying. 

That past culture may be quaint in many ways (Kiwiana), but there is also a whiff of unpleasantness about it too - an underbelly of NZ society if you will. Racism (casual and otherwise) and a male dominated perspective are two aspects of that culture.

I mention it because while Last Man Down like the quaint aspects, it does bring to mind a lot of other stuff. Again, just sayin'.

Favourite tracks: I enjoyed the Steely Dan-ish instrumentation on opener Uncles, and the lyrics to that one also holds up more than elsewhere; the aforesaid Edmond's Sure To Rise is fun; Featherston - where he channels Tim Finn's vocal style; and The Bay is fine too - some lovely sax work from somebody.

I definitely prefer him when he plays it straight.

The bits I wasn't so hot on: the smoking references annoy me (they always have - I can't help it. This is an idiosyncrasy peculiar to me alone I suspect). It feels like every song has a reference to smoking, fags or roll yer owns. Yuck.

I also don't tend to enjoy songs that use very young girls as protagonists. Goal Attack and State House Kid focus on young girls and it feels a bit pervy and icky.

The unrelenting referencing to Kiwiana, place names etc became too much at times. I'll again be alone in this nagging feeling, I'm sure. One or two local references on a Kiwi album seems judicious. Five or so references per song is a bit try hard and a bit jarring.

Those are minor quibbles. The strengths (the music) outweigh the negatives. Almost.