By Abra Richardson
Last Dinosaurs are an indie-rock group from Brisbane, Australia — according to their TikTok (and many other people that are forced to define their genre) — who say that there are stories behind each track on their long-awaited new album, From Mexico With Love (out today, November 4).
After coming off a 2019 American tour, lead guitarist and vocalist Lachlan Caskey was in Toronto, Canada when the world shut down due to the rising threat of COVID-19. But instead of going back to Australia when the safety protocols drastically tightened, Lachlan decided he would likely have better luck getting to Mexico and staying with a friend while things blew over. "I remember getting a call from Lach to talk [about] options and thinking he was brave to attempt this, especially before we really knew how it was going to affect the world," the band’s bassist, Michael Sloane recalled. "But it was a choice that paid off in the end regardless of the uncertainty. With lockdown, even Sean [Caskey] and I were somewhat separated in the same city, so the band was in a distant relationship in any case."
While in Mexico, Lachlan found time to write a majority of their new album, and as restrictions loosened, he returned to Australia to share his writings with bandmates Sean Caskey and Michael Sloane, as well as producer James Angus. “With James Angus everything was super natural and fast,” Lachlan said. “He felt like an extension of our own minds and it was super easy. We’ve been a band for a long time, so it felt familiar to the whole process.”
This year, the band took on the summer by headlining a tour across North America (including three performances over the course of Lollapalooza), playing a few shows with Okomato’s in Japan, and now, touring with Bad Suns in anticipation of the release of their new album.
From Mexico With Love is composed 10 songs and Lachlan spoke with us about every song below:
01. "Hanson Ghost"
It’s a familiar tone: upbeat and guitar driven and I think we wanted to kick off the album on that wavelength since some of the more morose tunes aren’t as likely to draw you in.
02. "Look Back"
"Look Back" is just like every other song on this album, written in one go. It was one of the first ones I completed in Mexico and one of the least changed songs since I got back to Australia. It was fresh. I just landed in Mexico not knowing when I would see anyone ever again.
03. "CDMX"
The connection was established the first time we ever went [to Mexico City] in 2019. It blew us away with its aesthetic beauty and deep history. People have always talked about Mexico as a surreal place and for good reason. It feels like a dream every time we go there.
04. "Put Up With The Weather!"
Funnily enough, I made a TikTok about that song, explaining in depth the angle of the song. But long story short, it’s the self aware youthfulness bordering on naivety of Kero Kero Bonito meeting with City Pop emotional up-bestness.
05. "Auto-Sabotage"
[Writing "Auto-Sabotage" was] just like every other song I completed in Mexico. You just write songs and if they make it, they make it. I think however I knew it would be on the Final Cut.
06. "Note To Self"
POV: you’re a useless and lazy piece of shit but you live in a first world hedonic malaise so nothing will ever change you until something terrible happens to you.
07. "Can’t Afford A Psychoanalysis"
Mental health is desperately relevant these days and everyone wants a therapist because of it but it’s just as easy to ignore the problem and carry on because of course, mental health is now an exploited niche of late capitalism. Real psychoanalysis is something for the privileged only.
08. "The Hating"
I’ve felt [hatred] about my own country for a long time. It’s definitely partly why I’ve travelled so much in my adulthood. It’s such a general and huge entity to have hatred for but I’m not the only one who feels that way.
09. "Collect Call"
[Collect Call] was democratically voted to be the first single. It seemed most suitable as the kind of thing we come out with for a first single. Rockier and upbeat etc.
10. "When Pigs Fly"
I’m equating the saying with my frequency of optimism for life in general. It’s definitely one of the most introspective songs on the album so it couldn’t be a single. It’s my personal favourite at the moment I would have to say.