Vocalist/guitarist Alan O'Keeffe unveils "Crossed Fingers," his first single under the banner of Last Man Back.
Stream "Crossed Fingers," here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGATeCfbtCo
A native of Cork, Ireland, who relocated to New York City in 2007, O'Keeffe is a lifer whose decades in the trenches of rock n' roll have led finally to this new incarnation. Last Man Back sees O'Keeffe, a veteran of many bands and bars, take center stage for the first time, as songwriter and frontman.
"I moved to the US in 2007 with my mate Graham," he states. "We came here with the plan to write and record an album in a year before our visas expired. I’m still here and that album never got written! NYC was the first stop. I just dove right in head first. Between playing in bands and working in bars in the Lower East Side and Brooklyn, I could write books about the stories. Magical stuff, really."
Having lent his talents to a slew of acts across the city – among them, garage rock darlings Des Roar – the time came for O'Keeffe to make his own mark. That mark has now been made; Last Man Back's first-ever single is an absolute stunner. Right out of the gate, "Crossed Fingers" hooks the ear and the heart with a driving verse and soaring chorus. Urgent and wistful, in equal measure, this simple, devastating song demands to be played repeatedly.
"You saw me as you walked away," sings O'Keeffe on the four-minute tale of betrayal. "Are you happy now that you walked away?"
O'Keeffe describes his musical roots: "The Stone Roses' first album is where everything changed for me. And with that came a tidal wave of melodic, psyched-out tunes that would be with me forever. Ride, Teenage Fanclub, Swervedriver – that’s just the tip of the iceberg, but it’s all in there. And that’s where I want to take Last Man Back, taking that moment in time and adding my two cents' worth."
While "Crossed Fingers" bears traces of those UK greats of the late '80s and early '90s, the song's arpeggiated guitars, tense drumming, and haunting harmonies also call to mind some of the world-weary gems that defined the heyday of the college rock scene, a few years prior – the early works of The Cure and R.E.M., among others.
To put Last Man Back in a present-day context, O'Keeffe names High Vis as one of his current favorite bands.
"Crossed Fingers" was produced by Jeff Ottenbacher and mixed by Kal Pipal (Gorillaz, Sam Fender). Flanking O'Keeffe are AJ Edmiston on drums and Chris Buckle on guitar and backing vocals.
A man in his forties, O'Keeffe has made the bold move of starting anew, putting himself out on the proverbial limb with his most personal work to date. With "Crossed Fingers" as the first taste of what is to come, it appears that Last Man Back is more than a "project"; it is the culmination of O'Keeffe's life, thus far, and a thrilling new musical entity.
Stand by for news of the next single and the next live shows.
https://www.instagram.com/wearelastmanback/
Photos by Guy Eppel
No comments:
Post a Comment