My first exposure to Lagwagon was on an old compilation album from Mark Hoppus’ clothing line called Atticus: Dragging the Lake that my friend Tim Packett loaned me circa 2004.
Let me describe for you a little of what Mike Hopkins was like in 2004: imagine, if you will, a scrawny kid with shaggy hair wearing a grey Independent Skate Co. shirt – the same one he’s worn for the last three days. In his garage are two or three skateboards – frankenboards assembled from various decks, trucks, wheels and bearings that his friends used and abused and then gave to him. Below his baggy khaki cargo shorts are chunky DC shoes with drawing scrawled all over them.
Now that you’re in the proper frame of mind, you’ll understand why 2005’s Resolve by Lagwagon takes me back to my driveway, trying to 50-50 rails my neighbor brought over. This album is indicative of every other album and artist I listened to back then – Against Me!, NoFX, Anti-Flag, Morning Glory…essentially any band signed to Fat Wreck Chords or featured in a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater game. It just puts me right back in those shoes, drinking Minute Maid Lemonades from a can and hoping my mom didn’t see that I wasn’t wearing a helmet.
I took a little peek at Lagwagon’s most recent effort from last year and they are nothing if not consistent. The speed drumming, power chords and half-yelled vocals are all still intact, just as they were on Resolve. Lagwagon has changed little, if at all, over the past ten years. But that’s my issue with the music – I have changed in the last ten years.
I love the lyrics “the mortician and his tools sonically bury you/ you could have chose another chord to resolve on” in the song “Resolve,” because it’s true. We choose. But the genuine mourning of loss is still there…The whole album is a tribute. And it just reminds me that I would want to be worthy of such a tribute. (Dallen Cole)
As much fun as it is to ring that old nostalgic bell of skate punk music, the album starts to blend together. Every song is just as fast and just as power chordy as the last.
I finally got to “Sad Astronaut,” which starts out with an acoustic guitar and some surprisingly sincere vocals. As the song continues and some soft guitar noodling comes in, you kind of settle into a really great vibe…and then it transforms into exactly what the rest of the album is – speed punk. A little disappointing moreso than the other tracks in that you actually get a glimpse of what Lagwagon would sound like if they took a little breather and made something a downbeat occasionally.
I was impressed with some of the lyricism on these tracks, however. For “just another punk record” there’s a lot of emotion being grappled with, due mostly to the suicide of drummer Derrick Plourde. There’s the realism of loss and all of the self-blame, unanswered questions and well, lack of resolve that accompany such a tragic event to someone who was practically family.
In my opinion, the music kind of outweighs the lyrics unless you really sit down and focus on them. However, the effort pays off, as you get a picture of an injured musician mourning his friend. The album is, on its surface, a great skate punk record when you’re in the mood for it. It doesn’t get much more classic than Lagwagon and some old footage of Steve Caballero carving a halfpipe.
And not many albums have that kind of versatility.
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Released: November 1st, 2005
Suggested by: Dallen Cole
For project details and to suggest your own favorite album, visit the intro page.