The Last Conspirators - When It All Comes Down download free

Sara Ayers - NIPPERTOWN ("When It All Comes Down" Review) Okay, it took me a while to listen to this entire CD because I had to play the first track, “Luther Hamilton Blues,” about ten times in a row. Yeah, it’s that good. A psychedelic tribal vamp evolves into a chanting punk verse before finally blossoming into a glorious pop chorus. Frontman Tim Livingston excels at writing hook-laden, politically charged paeans to pop culture, and his commando team (crackerjack Nippertown music veterans Al Kash on drums, Terry Plunkett on guitar and Jeff Sohn on bass) play it rough and crunchy on the band’s powerhouse sophomore disc. Other standouts include the Clash-like “Who Wants a Revolution Anyway?” and the ferocious, go-for-the-throat, garage-rock rumble of “History,” but there’s not a clunker in the bunch. “Long Live TV” (is this the third song Livingston has written about television?) evokes the ghost of Robert Hazard, while “It’s Late” is a tender and delicate ballad that stacks up the requisite dramatic refrains.Produced by Chris Fisher at his Easter Island Studios in Coxsackie, this 5-song EP – the follow-up to band’s 2007 full-length debut “War Party” – gets pretty close to capturing the energy of their live shows, and if the New York Dolls played sixties psychedelic pop, this is what it would all sound like. Potent stuff.” Bryan Swirsky - BIG TAKEOVER MAGAZINE ("When It All Comes Down" Review) "A five-song follow-up to Warparty, this equally potent recording hints these guys are not only are on to something good, they're just getting started. Fronted by Upstate NY punk legend, Tim Livingston (whose credits go back to Killed-By-Death style Albany punks, the Morons), the band fills the same sonic space as the Clash, Adverts, Ruts, Stiff Little Fingers and New Model Army. If you want to know where the real songwriters in punk are this day and age, look no further" David Greenberger - METROLAND MAGAZINE ("When It All Comes Down" Review)METROLAND MAGAZINE BEST LOCAL RECORDINGS 2010 “Tim Livingston’s quartet have pulled off a rare balancing act. The sociopolitical character of his songs are given such confidently forceful flight by the taut guitar-bass-drums that the music is not a backing track to broadsides, but its beating heart equal. It’s also a well-known fact that if you don’t have a good drummer you might as well stay home, and in Al Kash, the Last Conspirators have a great one.” Jeremy Schwartz - CHRONOGRAM MAGAZINE ("When It All Comes Down" Review) “Following up on their 2007 debut long player, Warparty, Albany’s Last Conspirators have unleashed another shot across the bow of a too-often-complacent rock soundscape. The songs evince an unshaken belief in the punk-rock ethic, starting with the all-in, soulful commitment of front man Tim Livingston’s vocals. Although the defiance of songs such as “History” and “Who Wants a Revolution Anyway” is present and correct, the music is anything but punk-by-numbers agitprop. The line-up of Livingston, bassist Jeff Sohn, guitarist Terry Plunkett, and drummer Al Kash is a vibrant testimonial of the Capital District’s close-knit but eclectic scene. The Conspirator’s sonic DNA is encoded with elements of glam, post-punk, psychedelia, and roots-rock. “Luther Hamilton’s Blues” struts forth on a bedrock rhythmic foundation, then layers on guitar fanfare that is by turns fractured and plangent before Livingston turns the lyric of a personal quest into a parable of a nation’s search to restore its collective mojo, underscored with Iggy-style primal howling. These recordings possess an immediacy that hints at the band’s infrequent but powerful live performances. Sure, the amps are cranked up really high, but the dynamic arrangements are the real payoff for the listener. “History” begins with anthemic guitar scrubbing, propelled by a hook-laden bass line before Plunkett launches the band to the stratosphere and back, pausing with Livingston cutting through the onslaught with an impassioned cry of “It’s too late for the future!” It’s never too late for music with this much craft and heart.” David Malachowski - THE DAILY FREEMAN ("When It All Comes Down" Review) “Produced by Chris Fisher (Conehead Budda) at Easter Island Studios, The Last Conspirators’ “When It All Comes Down” is the follow-up to the band’s recent “Warparty,” and it continues with its rocking apocalyptic themes. The Hudson Valley-based band features leader Tim Livingston on vocals, the venerable Al Kash (Savoy Brown, Commander Cody) on drums, Terry Plunkett on guitar and Jeff Sohn on bass. From the ominous “Luther Hamilton Blues,” facetious (we hope) “Long Live TV” (powered by a dreamy surf guitar and impassioned vocal) and the revolutionary taking inventory rant of “Who Wants A Revolution Anyway,” the Last Conspirators rock — and rock hard. There’s a sense of history here, a tip of that hat to what came before, but a firm, non-nostalgic acknowledgement of where we are now, which is needed and appreciated. Real rock for real people.” Michael Eck - THE TIMES UNION ("When It All Comes Down" Review) “Tim Livingston gets political in a punk rock way on the Last Conspirators' sophomore release, "When It All Comes Down."Tracks like "Luther Hamilton Blues" and "Who Wants a Revolution Anyway" sizzle with old school rock 'n' roll rage, backed by a crack rhythm section and Terry Plunkett's big guitar.With its surf-inflected guitar breaks and pointed lyrical lampooning, "Long Live TV," co-written with bassist Jeff Sohn, conjures a melodic, mellower Dead Kennedys. Best is "It's Late," a ballad about the fears and joys in a long-term relationship. The Last Conspirators are a band with deep roots. 30 years ago, Livingston was vocalist for the pioneering Albany punk band The Morons and his snarl remains intact, even if his topics have matured. Drummer Al Kash was also the motivator behind Fear of Strangers, who created a national buzz long before the good kids in Phantogram were born.Perhaps it's fitting, then, that the brief "When It All Comes Down" ends with "History," the riffing ersatz title track that proclaims "it's too late for the future!"