Red Beet Records

Last Train Home
 
"One of the country's most formidable roots-rock bands."
 
  That's the assessment of Nashville's Tennessean newspaper about Last Train Home. And while roots-rock is at the heart of LTH's sound, don't overlook the country, bluegrass, swing, blues, folk, pop, and Tin Pan Alley influences you'll find if you lend this band an ear. What began as a part-time band in Washington D.C. back in 1997 has evolved into an acclaimed full-time touring group based out of Nashville.
   LTH frontman Eric Brace is a former staff writer for The Washington Post  where he was a columnist covering the local music and nightlife scene. Prior to Last Train Home, Eric played in several Washington area bands, including B-Time, the Beggars, and Kevin Johnson & the Linemen. He also ran a local rock label, Top Records, for many years, before focusing on his own music.
   It was in late 1996 that Eric began pulling together a band to record some of his songs. Those recordings became the band's eponymous debut, "Last Train Home," released in 1997 on the D.C. indie Adult Swim Records (run by Dischord Records co-owner and punk rock legend Jeff Nelson). In 1999, the band returned with the deeper and richer release, "True North." With rave reviews coming in on a regular basis, the band started touring the east coast more widely, and took a couple of trips to Nashville to play its music.
  Soon there was a Christmas EP, another EP of cover tunes, and another full-length CD, "Time and Water." The band's path was becoming clear. In January, 2003, just as it was being declared Washington D.C.'s "Artist of the Year" by the Washington Area Music Association, Last Train Home went full-time. With its profile rising, the band opened for Willie Nelson at the Wolf Trap amphitheater outside Washington, and for Dolly Parton at DAR Constitution Hall. After relocating to Nashville, LTH quickly became an integral part of Nashville's independent music scene, and was named by the Tennessean newspaper as one of the finest live acts of 2005: "Best Show: Tie between Neil Young at the Ryman and Last Train Home at the Family Wash."
   In 2005, the band released the CD "Bound Away," and followed that in 2007 with "Last Good Kiss," both widely-praised CDs that showed the band's extraordinary growth. That artistic evolution was rewarded with appearances on the CBS "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" and on the syndicated radio show "Mountain Stage." 
  To celebrate its tenth anniversary, LTH recorded and released a live concert DVD and CD, "Last Train Home Live at IOTA," a vivid document that captures the dynamic live performance that has become the hallmark of this band.
  Eric contributes most of the songs to LTH's recordings, but he also champions the works of such Washington area artists (and part-time LTH members) Alan Brace, Karl Straub, Steve Wedemeyer, Scott McKnight, and Bill Williams. He also finds lesser-known gems from the likes of Buck Owens, Tom T. Hall, Paul Kelly, Bob Dylan, and Barry White to add to the band's CDs and sets.
  Over the years, Last Train Home has included many superb musicians, including:
Jim Gray: Bass
Kevin Cordt: Trumpet
Tom Mason: Electric guitar
Dave Van Allen: Pedal steel
Tim Carroll:  Guitar
Paul Griffith:  Drums
Eric Fritsch: Guitar, keyboards
Chris Watling: Saxophone, accordion
Pete Finney: Pedal steel 
Martin Lynds: Drums
Steve Wedemeyer: Electric guitar
Jared Bartlett: Electric guitar
Scott McKnight: Electric guitar
Jen Gunderman: Keyboards, accordion
Bill Williams: Electric guitar
Alan Brace: Mandolin, harmonica
Doug Derryberry: Guitars, keyboards, mandolin
 
  The band has played more than a thousand shows over the years, including tours of Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and the Virgin Islands. With its 11 releases, Last Train Home is a prolific band that gets better with each release, and continues to be one of the most interesting bands on the landscape of American music.

Last Good Kiss

Eric Brace: Acoustic guitar, lead vocals
J. Carson Gray: Electric bass
Martin Lynds: Drums, percussion, backing vocals
Steve Wedemeyer: Electric guitars, acoustic guitar, baritone guitar, 12-string electric guitar
Jen Gunderman: Piano, accordion, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B-3,
Wurlitzer, vibraphone, percussion, backing vocals
Kevin Cordt: Trumpet

with:
Claire Small: Backing vocals ("The Color Blue")
Tom Mason: Banjo ("You")

Recorded at 16 Ton studios, Nashville, TN
Produced and arranged by Brace, Gray, Gunderman, Lynds, and Wedemeyer
Engineered by Mike Esser and Patrick Miller
Mixed by Mike Esser, Patrick Miller, and LTH
Mastered by Fred Kevorkian, Kevorkian Mastering, Inc., NYC

Buy This CD Now >>

Track Listing

  1. 1. Last Good KissListen
  2. 2. FloodListen
  3. 3. Anywhere but HereListen
  4. 4. Can't Come Undone
  5. 5. Go NowListen
  6. 6. MayListen
  7. 7. YouListen
  8. 8. I'm Coming Home
  9. 9. Kissing BoothListen
  10. 10. Marking TimeListen
  11. 11. The Color BlueListen

Reviews

  • Lonesome Road Review (music blog)
    Lonesome Road Review (music blog)
    "Their latest release is packed with intelligent, emotionally truthful lyrics, tuneful vocals, and a scintillating mix of influences from 80s power pop and cowboy music, to border radio and Brazilian jazz."

    Last Train Home
    Last Good Kiss
    Red Beet Records
    4 stars (out of 5)

    If you’ve overdosed on teen celebs (well-behaved and otherwise), D.C. band Last Train Home has the cure: music by and for grown-ups. Their latest release is packed with intelligent, emotionally truthful lyrics, tuneful vocals, and a scintillating mix of influences from 80s power pop and cowboy music, to border radio and Brazilian jazz.

    Accordion and muted trumpet spin a slow conjunto rhythm under a lyric that uses small-town carnival attractions as metaphors for the vagaries of love in the outstanding “Kissing Booth.” The cool, jazzy Brazilian feel of “The Color Blue” contrasts sharply, and feels out of place on this record. Even so, the band captures the sound perfectly with unison trumpet and vocals, reminiscent of Sergio Mendes and Brasil ’66.

    The cowboy melody of “Anywhere but Here” evokes the dusty, deserted bus station that lead vocalist (and chief songwriter) Eric Brace is no doubt headed for when he says, “I’ll tell you what/I’ll use my feet to say goodbye.”

    Last Train Home’s alt-country pedigree (Keyboardist Jen Gunderman did time with the Jayhawks and Caitlin Cary) is well utilized throughout. The title track, with its propulsive, Marshall Crenshaw-meets-the Jayhawks vibe is a delight. “May” intriguingly fuses border radio with jazz. The keening vocal harmonies of “Flood” are so tight that they fairly buzz. Both “Flood” and “Can’t Come Undone” shine with Jen Gunderman’s instantly recognizable keyboard style.

    Brace’s lyrics are so deliciously complex that it’s hard to choose which ones to cite. On “Marking Time”, he sings, “Let’s walk/Through the graveyard/Look for the headstones/That have our names,” conjuring a relationship that’s doomed to die.

    “Go Now” is too honest to be played at graduation ceremonies, but that’s exactly where it should be heard. “At the break of the day/It’s good luck and Godspeed/I got some advice/But it’s less than you’ll need,” Brace sings. He could have been cloying. Instead, he says, “I see your hands on your old guitar/you’ll grow a thick skin/and you’ll break a few hearts/singing to drunks at the end of the bar.”

    Last Good Kiss does have its problems, though. For all its diverse influences, it relies too heavily on the same arid single vocal/acoustic guitar texture. The band has a talent for vocal harmonies, and a veritable orchestra of instruments to choose from. The album suffers because they don’t make the best use these resources. But there’s more than enough here to whet the appetites of old and new fans alike for their next release.

    by Maria Morgan Davis
  • Folking.com (website)
    Folking.com (website)

    "....a stunning album ! ".....  who are we to argue ??

    Last Good Kiss by Last Train Home


       

    Americana band Last Train Home have produced a stunning eighth album in Last Good Kiss. Formed as a part-time band in 1997, Last Train Home went full time in 2003 as a rather loose-knit combo who call upon a wide group of musicians to complement their sound and perform in what has been described as "One of the country's most formidable roots-rock bands."

    The songs of Last Good Kiss, mostly penned by lead vocalist Eric Brace, trace the heartache and aftermath of a broken relationship, and the album erupts from the start as Eric's vocals sail above the rocky groove of the title track. Lead guitarist Steve Wedemeyer adds his signature in the catchy hook of "Flood," the second track. Jen Gunderman provides keys, accordion and backing vocals and Martin Lynds on drums and Kevin Cordt on trumpet, complete the line up.

    Quite a few of the tracks are in country style, such as the beautifully simple "Anywhere But Here," but then along comes the bleak empty arrangement of "Go Now," the soulful "May" followed by the cool jazz of "You." "The Colour Blue" has distinctive bluesy Latin vibes and together with "Kissing Booth" features Kevin's sultry trumpet. The songs stand alone but link thematically with a fine version of Dylan�s "This Wheel's on Fire." A radio edit of the title track completes the album with driving rhythm and energy to the end.

    Last Good Kiss (also apparently the title of a book by James Crumley, an American crime novelist) is an eclectic mix of evocative styles ranging from rock to blues, country to swing, performed by a band who refuse to be pigeonholed and are continuing to create vibrant, enduring music which is making a definite impact on the Nashville music scene.
  • Hi Fi Plus (British audio magazine)
    "...They fit the Americana bracket, or alt-country if you prefer, but really they’re just a damned fine rock ‘n’ roll band with a great grasp on melody and song structure..."

    By Andrew Hobbs

    The leader of Last Train Home is Eric Brace, a former music journalist for respected newspaper The Washington Post who just happens to be an excellent singer and songwriter in his own right. This is Last Train Home’s fifth album, and although Brace is the principal songwriter, all the band members (which include ex-Jayhawk Jen Gunderman on keyboards) contributed ideas and arrangements. Last Good Kiss was mainly recorded live in the studio, and shows a band comfortable in their surroundings and capable of bringing the best out of one another. They fit the Americana bracket, or alt-country if you prefer, but really they’re just a damned fine rock ‘n’ roll band with a great grasp on melody and song structure. Not surprisingly, considering they have an ex-Jayhawk in their midst, there’s a strong ‘Hawks’ flavour to their music, especially on mid-paced numbers like ‘Can’t Come Undone’, which features delightful accordian playing courtesy of Ms. Gunderman.
    They have their own identity though, and in Brace they have a vocalist with a flexible and hugely entertaining voice, and a songwriter every bit the equal of messrs. Louris and Olson. Thrown in for good measure is a cover of Dylan’s ‘Wheels Of Fire’, and it’s a compliment to Brace when I tell you his songs stand shoulder to shoulder with one of rock music’s legendary compositions.
  • Alan Cackett
    "Eclectic, maybe, but also very accessible and highly recommended..."

    By Alan Cackett

    Last Goodbye Kiss

    Corazong Records 255 100

    **** (4 out of 5 stars)

    Eclectic musical stew from an accomplished band of ace musicians A band like Last Train Home are unlikely to feature in any mainstream chart. In fact, you're unlikely to hear them on mainstream radio (unless you think Bob Harris is mainstream).

    You see this Nashville-based outfit are too eclectic for their own good. They bring in musical threads from country, folk, bluegrass, swing, jazz, blues, rock'n'roll and even mariachi into an original repertoire that has elevated them into an acclaimed live act but a little known recording one. They've released a half-dozen albums on small indie labels-each one has been critically-acclaimed and readily embraced by a small, but growing fan base.

    But to the general music buying public who look for tunes they know or a recognised sound that doesn't colour outside of pre-set boundaries, Last Train Home is destined to remain virtually unknown.

    But Maverick readers are more discerning than the multitudes, so they should get what's going on here. It's high-class rootsy, rock-inflected music. Most songs are written by lead singer Eric Brace and range from the heartbreaking ballad ‘Go Now’ to the almost jazzy ‘You’ and the rhythmic ‘Kissing Booth’ with a little fuzz on the electric guitars, some accordion way down in the mix and a soulful lead vocal.

    They throw in a couple of bonus tracks-a neat acoustic reworking of the Carter Family's ‘Lovers Farewell’ and Dylan's ‘This Wheel's On Fire’. Eclectic, maybe, but also very accessible and highly recommended.
  • Norman Chalmers
    "An album filled with subtlety, musicianship and excellent writing."

    By Norman Chalmers

    LAST TRAIN HOME **** (out of 5)

    Last Good Kiss

    CoraZong Records 255100, £12.99

    Powerful, energising full-on roots-rock is par for the course from this mature Nashville-based band. It's here too, but this album has a laid-back absorbing sweet melancholy on many of the tracks. Rich vocal harmony plus accordion, trumpet and banjo join guitars, keys and percussion in an imaginatively textured, moody variety. An album filled with subtlety, musicianship and excellent writing.
  • Performing Songwriter magazine
    Road tested over much of last year, the new record is a tough,
    tenacious set of songs sprung from tangled reflection and emotional
    imbroglio.

    By Lee Zimmerman

    Last Train Home
    Last Good Kiss
    Featured Download: "Flood" MP3

    "Love's come down like a big storm / I don't see any break in the
    clouds," sings Last Train Home's Eric Brace on "Flood," one of several
    bracing entries on the veteran Nashville band's seventh album, Last
    Good Kiss. But if this is a lucky seven, Last Train Home doesn't let
    on. Road tested over much of last year, the new record is a tough,
    tenacious set of songs sprung from tangled reflection and emotional
    imbroglio.
    "There's been lots going on, a bit of turmoil, and that's when some of
    the best stuff pops out," Brace insists. "It's part of growing up,
    growing older, feeling more assured in some things, less certain about
    others. I just wanted to capture that."

    The sterling melodies belie any hint of uncertainty. The title track
    provides a rugged album opener, propelled by a sturdy strum and an
    insistent surge. "Can't Come Undone" tempers expressions of regret and
    remorse with a loping rhythm that also asserts unbounded
    determination. The haunting "Kissing Booth" and the meandering "May"
    connect with a sinewy, seductive allure, while tender ballads "I'm
    Coming Home" and "The Color Blue" bear a loftier, love-struck stance.

    Blues hues and blue-collar environs seem to find natural
    synchronicity, and the mesh is seamless. "I wasn't going to put out a
    record with any throwaway tracks," Brace asserts. "I was going to have
    to stand behind every cut on this one in a way that maybe I didn't on
    previous albums." That tack pays off. Confident and cohesive, Last
    Good Kiss offers furtive glances that rapidly gel into an enduring
    embrace.
  • Americana UK
    "9 Out of 10 Stars - It happens all too rarely but when you do stumble across a band as good as Last Train Home, the hairs on the back of your neck really do stand up on end."

    By Michael Mee

    9 out of 10 stars !!!

    It happens all too rarely but when you do stumble across a band as good as Last Train Home, the hairs on the back of your neck really do stand up on end. Last Good Kiss is a graphic illustration of the gulf between potential and fulfilment of that potential. Hundreds of bands come close but very few reach down inside themselves and pull out an album of this calibre. Last Good Kiss isn’t built on genre, style or fashion it’s built on rock solid talent and understanding of what the band is about..

    Although now playing out of Nashville, Last Train Home was formed in 1997 as a part-time band in Washington DC and everything about Last Good Kiss screams of musicians who have gone the right way about making the utmost of the talent at their disposal. The album has an unbreakable solidity that can only be born out of shared experience.

    The ‘dual’ influences of the ’cooler’ east and the more exotic south plus a decade of fermentation means that Last Good Kiss is a heady country roots brew. There’s even a hint of calypso running through the Color Blue, just in case the blood should cool a little.

    Perhaps the best showcase for Last Train Home comes at the very end of Last Good Kiss when the band demolish the Dylan/Danko classic This Wheel’s On Fire and then reconstruct it. It is doubtful that the song has sounded as good since Brian Auger’s Trinity was in its pomp.

    However, the attraction of Last Good Kiss isn’t about heart-stopping moments but from first to last, which just happen to be the same song, the band attacks its music with a will and it’s that consistency of performance that keeps the album out front.

    Largely, but not exclusively, the charge is led by vocalist Eric Brace who was blessed with one of those voices full deep meaning, that would be a square peg in a round hole in any other genre. But the energy is supplied by a band that, 10 years on, is still playing like its life depends on it.
     
  • Country Standard Time
    "Another consistently fine collection revolving around the moody songs and emotive vocals of bandleader Eric Brace. Call it "roots-plus" - call it what you like - Last Train Home continues to make music that's worth listening to."

    By Stuart Munro

    This is the 5th full-length album from Last Train Home in its 10 years of recording existence (and lately the band has been picking up the pace, releasing 3 since 2003), and it is another consistently fine collection revolving around the moody songs and emotive vocals of bandleader Eric Brace. The term "roots-rock" is an amorphous one, but with this release it remains as good as a descriptor as any of what this band's music is about, whether it's the shimmering, edge-of-melancholy sound of "Flood" or the loping, country-rock beat of "Can't Come Undone" or the hushed beauty of "Go Now."

    But if that is the band's musical bedrock, as always (and maybe more so this time around) Last Train Home adds those interesting touches and flourishes - the accordion and trumpet laced through "Kissing Booth," the jazzy ambience, punctuated with a ringing chorus, of "You," the combination of a tropical vibe and some blue trumpet on the closing song, "The Color Blue" - that make it more than just another rootsy outfit. Call it "roots-plus" - call it what you like - Last Train Home continues to make music that's worth listening to.
  • Philadelphia Inquirer
    "Right from the urgently rocking title track, which opens Last Good Kiss, it's clear that Last Train Home continues to stretch out."

    Last Train Home
    Last Good Kiss
    (Red Beet Records)
    3 out of 4 stars

    Right from the urgently rocking title track, which opens Last Good
    Kiss, it's clear that Last Train Home continues to stretch out. While
    the sound retains a touch of rootsiness, it also extends beyond the
    band's familiar alt-country/Americana.

    Into what? That's tougher to categorize. This group left Washington
    for Nashville in 2003. Its five-member lineup features two new
    players, including former Jayhawk Jen Gunderman; her keyboards play a
    big role in defining this edition of Last Train Home, especially on
    numbers such as the piano-based ballad "Go Now." But the ultimate
    identity of the band still rests with front man Eric Brace. And if the
    new music is more diffuse stylistically, it still possesses an
    evocative expressiveness that matches the depth of feeling the singer
    brings to his typically penetrating songs.

    - Nick Cristiano
  • Music Row magazine
    "This stellar roots-rock quintet is noted for its ferocious live shows. The title tune and lead-off track to its latest CD displays all the instrumental finesse and performance passion you’d expect."

    By Bob Oermann
  • Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine
    By Dave Stallard

    After plying their trade for the last decade in the Washington, D.C., area, where singer/guitarist Eric Brace once wrote for The Washington Post, alt-country rockers Last Train Home now call Nashville home. The band’s latest release is sure to keep the band on the road and far from home for a while. Complete with moody and sultry songwriting, atmospheric guitar chords, driving rhythms, and lots of reverb and feedback, “Last Good Kiss” casts a net of wide appeal. The title track kicks the album off with a roar and then flowingly segues into “Flood,” where Brace’s soulful vocals draw a metaphorical parallel between love and a rising tide. Mellower moments include “Anywhere But Here,” a smooth, country-esque ode to getting out of town and out of love, and “Go Now,” which centers around Jen Gunderman’s subtle piano work. “I’m Coming Home” just might be the best love song I have heard in a long time. Like the rest of the album, it just resonates with me. 
  • Billings Gazette (Montana)
    By Chris Jorgensen

       Nashville's Last Train Home gets a lineup change with guitarist Steve Wedemeyer and keyboards/vocalist Jen Gunderman joining the band. The ex-Jayhawks members lend an additional melodic savviness to the new tunes and helps LTH reach ever-so-slightly beyond its alt-country roots.
       But it's still frontman Eric Brace's show, and he's getting better at it.
       Brace wrote 10 of the 11 songs for "Last Good Kiss," the band's fifth full album, and he's rocking harder with songs like the opening title cut and the grinding, bluesy "Flood." The seven-minute "May" is a slow, dirgy examination of death and remembrance, while "You" is the rare love song with a laid back jazzy guitar.
       The album gets jumping with the closer, "The color Blue," a Latin-flavored slow rumba with a nice, light trumpet blowing across the driving bongos.
  • No Depression
    Last Good Kiss

    By Rick Cornell

    It's not for nothing that one of the largest photos on this CD's jacket is that of a vactated plastic chair, the kind you might find at a bus terminal or, ahem, train station. Many of the album's songs are about someone leaving or at least wrestling with the idea of doing so. And contrary to the name of this Nashville-based, D.C.-spawned five-piece, the protagonists are rarely heading in a comfortable direction ("i'm Coming Home" being the exception that proves the rule).

    "Last Good Kiss" is the most ambitious and adventurous of Last Train Home's eight-release career, with atmosphere playing as large a role as big roots-rock guitars. As a result, you might find yourself at times thinking "Hmmm, that was well executed" as opposed to "Let's hear that one again" (the stab at alt-tropicalia on the album-capping "The Color Blue a case in point), but that's a by-product of a band stretching out. Adding to the new flavor is the inclusion of former Jayhawks keyboardist Jen Gunderman, whose accordion contends with the rich voice of songwriter/frontman Eric Brace as the record's most pivotal instrument.

    When everything connects -- mood, hooks, epic sweep -- on "Kissing Booth" and the knockout title track, the effect is striking. Best of all is the centerpiece "Go Now." More country soul than country rock, its hushed delivery is a perfect fit for the early-morning setting and the heartache that's hatching.
  • The Tennessean (Nashville)
    The Tennessean (Nashville)

    Now officially based in Nashville (as opposed to having one foot here and the other in Washington, D.C.), roots-rockers Last Train Home are a testament to vision and persistence that makes being in it for the long haul seem like something that's actually worth doing. The band has always had a rousing live show, as well as terrific, well-wrought songs courtesy of frontman Eric Brace. Now, on their new Last Good Kiss, they've finally made a record that packs a sonic and emotional wallop that completes the package. The snarling, muscular guitar of recent addition Steve Wedemeyer is a big part of it. Even more dramatic, though, is the stamp of keyboardist and accordionist Jen Gunderman, a woman who plays with enough heart and imagination to spur any band on to new heights.

    — Bill Friskics-Warren, The Tennessean
  • The Yummy List
    By Holly Gleason
    "Last Good Kiss" by Last Train Home

         The bluegrass-tinged Americana heartbreakers look to horizons farther off, and find a wistful romanticism and more grown-up resolve that also engages on a deeper musical level. For vocalist Eric Brace, it manifests as a more Raul Malo-esque eroticism -- aged tobacco, incense and ancient, but supple leathers giving to the weight and contours of his blond maple voice. Last Good Kiss is a quieter affair in some ways, more rhythmically subtle, yet still as wide open as parched two-lanes cutting through the most forsaken stretches of the Badlands.
         Mostly rootsy, Appalachian in places, a bit bossa nova in others, deeply emotional, yet sturdy enough for a man to listen to without flinching. Squeezebox embroidery on the lanky “Can't Come Undone” juxtaposes the innocence of breezy sparseness that captures “I'm Coming Home”'s clear-eyed commitment -- and the loping yearn of the over-and-fading follies “Anywhere But Here”'s piquancy tantalizes. Still it's the Graham Parker-esque elegance of “Kissing Booth,” where the frisson of want and reckoning smoulder brightest, and the earliest wafts of Tom Waits' quavering lost hours “Go Now” that LTH's subtleties become capable of point blank stopping power. A thoroughly adult roots affair.
     
  • Used Wigs.com
    Things I'm Digging...
    "Last Good Kiss" ... new from Last Train Home
    Need something to take the edge off? A sweet, slow-sippin' cocktail of country, folk and rock deftly mixed by Eric Brace and company should do the trick.
     
  • Audio Audition Magazine
    By Hermon Joyner

    Relationships are at the heart of most songs—relationships gone right and those that go wrong. There are the relationships that give us a reason to live and those that leave us questioning everything. “Last Good Kiss,” the latest album from the Nashville band Last Train Home, is filled with songs that explore the boundaries of those relationships and examine how they intersect with each other, and they are played with heartbreaking earnestness.

    Usually considered to be a leading alt-country or Americana band, Last Train Home is exploring new ground in this album. While some songs contain colorings of alt-country, most of the songs on this album fall into the category of indie-rock. The prevalence of electric guitar, played by Steve Wedemeyer either in understated and minimalist guitar solos or in shimmeringly resonant curtains of chords are all perfectly rendered in the most economical fashion, ends up giving the album a closer connection to rock music. It’s really the subject matter of relationships that ties it to country music, providing a link to the Hank Williams tradition of songwriting. Also helping to break the sound of the group away from alt-country is Jen Gunderman on keyboards, like the pulsing Rhodes piano accompaniment on “You” and even on accordion, surely one of the most underutilized instruments in popular music. Rounding out the group are Jim Gray on electric bass and Martin Lynds on drums and percussion, laying down the solid “tracks” that this Train runs on. Kevin Cordt plays trumpet on a couple of numbers, further taking the music away from the country realm and treading on the boundaries of jazz and Latin music. His boozy beautiful solo on “The Color Blue” is playfully sexy. If you can say anything about Last Train Home, it’s that they know how to play as a group—intuiting both how to step back and support each other, and how to step out front and shine. There’s a level of comfort and confidence that infuses all their performances on this album.

    Frontman Eric Brace wrote most of the songs on “Last Good Kiss.” In fact, Brace wrote all of them except for guitarist Steve Wedemeyer’s tune “Can’t Come Undone.” The songs range from seductively timed ballads (Go Now) to energetically driving tunes (Last Good Kiss). If there’s a consistency to the songs on this album, it’s that they’re all consistently excellent. Brace delivers the vocals with sincerity and authenticity that is nearly devastating—every note and phrase rings of heart-felt and life-lived truth. And if there is a better vocalist working the scene at this time, I really don’t know who it could be. His voice is colored in turns by passion, weariness, elation, and angst. Eric Brace is the real deal. “Last Good Kiss” is a significant step forward in the evolution of a great band, and could very well be the best album of their career. This gets my highest recommendation. 
  • Green Man Review
    By Gary Whithouse

    Last Train Home has taken several major steps forward with its eighth release, Last Good Kiss. Not least among the positive changes are a relocation from Washington, D.C., to Nashville, and some lineup adjustments. And for the first time, all the tracks on this release were written by band members.

    Eric Brace, former Washington Post music writer, is still fronting the band and writing most of the material. He pens some literate, emotional and poetic lyrics and sings them in a folksy style that Greg Brown fans would be comfy with. The arrangements range from honky-tonk to lounge-inflected blues to straight country and folk, with a lot of additional influences.

    In addition to Brace's writing and singing, the success of this album comes down in large part to the contributions of three musicians. Texas-based guitarist Steve Wedemeyer plays with extraordinary energy, taste and sensitivity; Jen Gunderman, late of the Jayhawks among others, adds immeasurably to the moods with piano, organ and accordion; and jazzman Kevin Cordt, who fronts his own D.C. combo and is also a member of the New York alt-everything band Spottiswoode & His Enemies spices things up with occasional trumpet. (I don't want to neglect bassist Jim Gray or drummer Martin Lynds, who both do more than their job of setting the rhythm, adding lots of subtle nuances along the way.)

    Right out of the starting gate, the title track is a rocking country song that'll make you want to dance the Texas two-step, with a slow instrumental middle-eight part for a bit of slow-dancing -- it's one of those sad songs that's perfect for dancing. From there on out, the mood shifts frequently. "Flood" is a sultry slow rocker about love, with a soaring, gospel-influenced chorus feating lots of organ. "Anywhere But Here" with its jingling electric piano and lazy rhythm punctuated by thudding tom-tom backbeats, could be a lost Jim Reeves ballad. Wedermeyer's "Can't Come Undone" has a touch of the Texas border country, especially from Gunderman's accordion.

    For me, the gem at the heart of this box of 11 songs is "Kissing Booth," which figures, since I'm a big Calexico fan and this one has brushed snares, accordion and muted trumpet. But it's just a superb song, showing off all of Last Train Home's strengths, including Wedermeyer's sensitive guitar playing, Lynds' jazzy drumming, Gunderman's minimal accordion playing, and Brace's honest vocal stylings and darkly poetic lyrics: "Time is a train on an endless track / Baggage coach painted black / memory leans on a windowsill / looking for a little more time ... to kill."

    But don't miss the devastatingly sad songs "Go Now" and "May," the loungey, bluesy love song "You," and the Tropicalia coda of "The Color Blue," with wispy backing vocals from guest Claire Small and Cordt's warm horn. This is a strong album that rewards repeated listening.
  • McKeesport (PA) Daily News
    By Jeffrey Sisk

    Too often, quality bands slip under the radar while lesser talents skyrocket to success. Alt-country quintet Last Train Home are one such band. Their soulful brand of country rock seems made for the masses, yet they remain fairly anonymous. "Last Good Kiss" might be the record to break frontman Eric Brace and his bandmates into the mainstream. Last Train Home have honed their musical chops with a relentless touring schedule —including an upcoming July 13 stop at the summer concert series in Greensburg's St. Clair Park. The disc-opening title track gets things off to a fine start and songs like the countrified "Anywhere But Here," the poignant "May" and "The Color Blue" underscore Brace's songwriting ability. Though the band excels at the slower tunes, I'd like to see them pick up the pace more often. With such a talented group of musicians behind him, Brace should let them do what they do best.
  • Johnson City Press
    By Doug Janz

    Ten years into the band's life, Last Train Home has found a little stability. And perhaps these musicians have gotten their name and music out into the market enough to gain some of the notoriety they're due.

    Whatever the reason, LTH has established itself as a mainstay on the roots-rock scene, sliding from alt-country to rock to bluesy numbers to folk or maybe blasting horns. almost everyone who sees them is converted. "These guys are great! You gotta comes see them," is the usual reaction.

    The band comes to Down Home for toady's 9 p.m. show bearing a new album, "Last Good Kiss," and riding a wave of positive critical reviews. The last couple of years for the group, starting with the previous album, "Bound Away," have been good ones.

    "We've gotten a lot of really good response," says Eric Brace, lead singer and songwriter for the group. "A lot of it's just being around long enough, so people have seen the name and heard of us by now, or gone online and heard us. A lot of it is just a slow build. We stay on the road a lot and I guess we've reached a critical mass."

    The band line-up has settled into a five-piece unit, comprising Brace, the rhythm section of bassist Jim Gray and drummer martin Lynds, and newer members Steve Wedemeyer on lead guitar and Jen Gunderman on keyboards. While the group originated in Washington, D.C., it has morphed into more of a Nashville unit because Brace now lives there. His rhythm section followed him, and Wedemeyer and Gunderman were recruited in Nashville.

    There are still various other members to Last Train Home, some still in the D.C. area, therefor gigs in the mid-Atlantic can sometimes include more members. But the five-piece is the mainstay.

    "The get the people I've got here in Nashville, it's beyond my wildest dreams when I moved down here," Brace said. "We've got an amazing guitar player in Steve, and Jen is just fabulous on keyboards. For some gigs we add a pedal steel player and a trumpet player, but it's less of a big interchanging lineup."

    Brace said that has helped stimulate his songwriting, and the new album is done based on the five-piece arrangement.  it's a stripped down version of the old group. "There are definitely some songs we don't do anymore that used a horn section lineup," he said, "but every lineup has its strengths, and we try to play to those depending on what we have."

    The music no longer belongs in the alt-country category, Brace said, comparing it more to something from Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, laced with keyboards, with some slow songs but also some rockers.
    Tickets are $12 and it's the band's fourth visit to Down Home.
    "We can't sell the room out yet, but each time we've gotten a nice standing ovation," Brace said, "and people keep telling us that next time they're going to bring 50 of their friends, so there's definitely room to grow.
    The people at Down Home have been great to us. They keep asking us back, and that's an honor because it's such a great club."
  • Joe Ross Reviews
    By Joe Ross

    Last Train Home continues to ride the wave. While based in the Washington area, they won a dozen WAMMIEs (Washington Area Music Awards) and has built both a solid reputation and fanbase over the years. Last Train Home's latest eclectic alt - country effort (their fourth album overall) includes eleven originals, ten by guitarist/vocalist/frontman Eric Brace and one penned by guitarist Steve Wedemeyer. The band has been cranking out the tunes for about ten years, and Brace relocated to Nashville in 2003. Delivering a confident and personalized roots rock sound, Last Train Home also includes Jen Gunderman (keyboards, accordion, percussion), Jim Gray (bass), and Martin Lynds (drums, percussion). Jen and Martin contribute background vocals. Also appearing in the mix are Kevin Cordt (trumpet), Claire Small (backing vocals on "The Color Blue"), and Tom Mason (banjo on "You").
           The title track opens the set with a desire to move on beyond broken hearts and promises despite the availability of one "last good kiss." The set makes a dynamic segue to melodic electric guitar riff of "Flood," a song about being carried away on the rising tide of love. A poignant ballad with acoustic overtones, "Anywhere But Here" expresses the yearning to find new direction. In fact, many of Brace's sentiments are about his optimistic needs, wishes and dreams, through thick and thin, always trying to keep an upbeat attitude despite adversity and rejection. Gunderman's accordion gives the band a distinctive Texas border sound, and my guess is that they're building a legion of fans in the Lone Star State at roadhouses and dance halls where they perform. The 5 - minute "Go Now" and 7 - minute "May" express some of Brace's most pensive and reflective moments "be brave enough to let it all in, always give more than you take." Putting these two relaxed songs back-to-back at the midpoint of the set creates a whole different mood, one that is captivating but some may feel is enervating and causes the set to lose some of its energy. I hope that lyrics for their songs will be uploaded soon to the band's website because listeners need to contemplate and reflect upon them. The second half of the set make some clear and convincing statements, but I felt some additional background vocals would have sweetly embellished choruses on songs like "I'm Coming Home," "Kissing Booth," and "Marking Time." The combination of percussion, trumpet and Claire Small's vocal backing make the album's unique closer, "The Color Blue" awash with an impressionistic azure character that leaves us feeling in high spirits and content with the overall set.
  • The Washington Post
     By Mike Joyce

    LAST TRAIN HOME is based in Nashville these days, but the band travels so much it might seem that frontman Eric Brace would be hard-pressed to keep coming up with first-rate songs between tour stops. Apparently, that's not a problem. If anything, "Last Good Kiss," the quintet's new release, suggests that as far as the quality of Brace's songwriting is concerned, the more road work the better.

    Consider the album's opening and title track. A rushing, Last Train express out of Nashville, where the disc was recorded, the song swiftly reveals Brace's knack for conveying hair-trigger emotions with just a few choice words. It's also a stirring showcase for the band's new lineup, featuring guitarist Steve Wedemeyer and keyboardist Jen Gunderman, formerly of the Jayhawks.
     
    Brace, who wrote the "Nightwatch" column for Weekend a few years back, penned 10 of the 11 songs collected here, including "May," a poignant reflection on the jarring nature of family loss. Then there's "Flood," a song about the redemptive power of love with soaring gospel overtones, and "Anywhere but Here," a loping, heartsick plaint. They couldn't be pitched further apart. But each in its own distinct way ranks among the band's best studio tracks. In addition to well-crafted songs, Brace's increasingly soulful vocals and guitarist Wedemeyer's twang-town thrust, the album features evocative touches of accordion, trumpet, banjo, percussion and vocal harmonies. None of the arrangements is more atmospheric than "The Color Blue," the album's enchanting coda, but there's no shortage of mood-enhancing accents from start to finish.
Home | Newsletter | All contents © 2008 Red Beet Records | powered by MCN

ARTISTS: Eric Brace | Last Train Home | Peter Cooper | Fayssoux | The Skylighters | Compilations