Ranking Lagwagon’s 9 Albums
When it comes to the 90s skate punk genre, few bands hold a more prestigious position in establishing the sound of the era than Lagwagon. As a band, they have been able to continue to grow through the years, even while bandmates changed, and have solidified their position amongst the best. As the first band to release a full-length on Fat Wreck Chords, they were also able to inform the direction the label musically moved (among other early signees).
Lagwagon’s proclivity for both technical as well as catchy riffs is one of the factors that put the band forefront, but it’s singer Joey Cape’s signature vocals that really kept the band from getting lost among others. While many bands in the genre at the time lacked truly diverse vocals from their singers, Cape’s range and ability to transition seamlessly between a soothing crooner and a ferocious anger-drenched vocalist gave the band a chance to shine where others couldn’t.
Besides Joey Cape (vocals) and Chris Flippin (guitar) the band has undergone several changes within the group since the beginning. Original bassist Jesse Buglione only recently left the band and was replaced with Joe Raposo on the last 2 records. Original drummer Derrick Plourde and guitarist Shawn Dewey both left after the 3rd full length, replaced by Dave Raun on drums and temporarily by Ken Stringfellow (guitar on Double Plaidinum) until Chris Rest (guitar) permanently replaced him.
Although everyone in the band has been a part of other successful groups ( RKL for example), Joey Cape has particularly made a name for himself as a very proficient songwriter and musician, releasing material through several different projects (Bad Astronaut w/ Derrick Plourde, Me First & The Gimme Gimmes w/ Dave Raun, The Playing Favourites, Bad Loud, Scorpios) and solo releases. As a frontman, the Caper has also become a sort of mascot for the band, his charismatic nature being a major benefit to the overall appeal of Lagwagon.
Similar to my other rankings, I re-listened to all of these albums several times, in different orders, and tried to decide where I would rank the albums — by various factors such as quality of the songs combined, individual songs, overall length, lyrical content, and originality, rather than necessarily the album’s importance at the time of release.
Disclaimer: These rankings are not definitive and are largely based on my own personal opinion. Please feel free to comment with your own rankings list.
9. Duh (1992)
For a debut release, Duh is a truly momentous record. It hits on all of the points that have made Lagwagon a great band for the past 25+ years — musically innovative, thought-provoking lyrics, and trademark vocals. As far as Lagwagon records go, this one probably eases off the gas pedal the least with any moment of reduced BPMs quickly vanishing into breakneck speed. While some of the song themes are serious, there’s always a more light-hearted tune right around the corner to even it out. This approach makes for an even listening, but knowing how great Cape’s lyrics can be, the screw-around songs lower the overall quality of the album, feeling somewhat jarring along with more sensitive issues. At times, the music can feel slightly chaotic, with Plourde’s skillful drumming sometimes acting as a distraction to the overall song structure. As good as Cape’s vocals are on the debut, they still get a knock in comparison to his vocal capabilities on future records, particularly on the higher notes he attempts. This album also gets negative points for the punkified cover of “Bad Moon Rising” that adds nothing special to an already great song.
Recommended Tracks: Mr. Coffee, Angry Days, and Bury The Hatchet
8. Railer (2019)
In 2019, Lagwagon sound just as charged up and ready to go as they did back in 1992, which luckily was partially the goal of this album — an album less focused on overthinking and instead relying on the band’s initial instincts and craftsmanship in the studio. The end product leaves us with some soon-to-be classics; songs that take an introspective look at a successful musical career while paying homage to the early days by way of signature riffage. One of my favourite takeaways on the record is the sense of harmony found throughout the songs, from the group vocals on “Jini”, to the guest vocals on songs like “Dangerous Animal”, and even the chilling intro of “Parable” by (I believe) Cape’s daughter. But, as great as the first half is, the b-side does seem to take a noticeable dip with songs that are still good, but less memorable (including a Journey cover). As opposed to most of the band’s other offerings Railer seems to give fewer chances to catch your breath and in turn, vocal melodies take somewhat of a backseat. This direction could be directly attributed to Cape releasing a solo album earlier this year. Like the Strung Out album that came out earlier this year, Railer features Cameron Webb behind the boards, and I find his style seems to dull the end product which also influences this record’s position.
Recommended Tracks: Bubble, Dangerous Animal, and Jini
7. Let’s Talk About Feelings (1998)
The first album to feature current guitarist Chris Rest and the last album before a 5-year break. Placing Let’s Talk About Feelings so low on the list feels wrong as it’s an album that contains one of the best (and most recognizable) Lagwagon tracks in “May 16th” and contains an overall excellent listening experience through a clever track order and maybe even my favourite production for a Lagwagon album. The whole record comes across as very crisp and clear without sounding overproduced, from acoustic intros to lounge-style bridges to galloping 30-second songs. One of the biggest problems with the album is that there just isn’t that much of it, with a length of just over 25 minutes, before you know it, it’s over. Now, I do think that any good album should leave you wanting more, but this one’s short timespan feels distinctly lacking. If they were to add 1 or 2 more songs, it would immediately bump up this album’s ranking. Even with the few negatives, the album has, “May 16th” alone makes the album a definitive Lagwagon record. To top it off, Let’s Talk About Feelings, true to name, is arguably the most poppy of the band’s discography.
Recommended Tracks: May 16th, After You My Friend, and Train
6. Blaze (2003)
At one point in time, this was my favourite Lagwagon album, but the years haven’t aged it quite as well as some of the others. At nearly 42 minutes, it’s the band’s longest album, and included in that runtime are a lot of great moments. Sonically, it’s probably their most produced record, giving it a big, yet not artificial sound, and several songs come across as audibly impactful. Spread throughout the album are great verses that deal with both socio-political issues as well as more personal ones, but overall this may be the lyrically weakest Lagwagon record (or 2nd to Duh). About half the songs are terrific (with a notably strong side b), and the rest are quality Lagwagon songs with a couple of forgettable tracks (“Billy Club” and “Max Says”). The song “Lullaby” stands out to me in particular as the subject matter is taken from the Chuck Palahniuk novel of the same name, a book that isn’t nearly as inspiring as the song and one of Palahniuk’s lesser works. Amid some great songs (maybe the best closing track for Lagwagon record) and blazing speed, there unfortunately just isn’t enough substance on this record to rise above some of their others.
Recommended Tracks: Dividers, Baggage, and Billionaire
5. Hang (2014)
Hang marked the first album without founding member Jesse Buglione, and while his signature bass style can’t easily be replaced, adding Joe Raposo is about as good of a replacement as you could have. Their playing style is different (fingering vs picking), but the change is less noticeable than you would think with Raposo seeming to be a natural fit. Hang is a record marked heavily by gloom and general misanthropy — not only through its lyrics but also via the accompanying production of the record, masterfully handled by the men at Blasting Studios as well as Orange Whip. The record finds the band at their darkest stylistically and the attitude seems to naturally flow from their veteran status as a band, the low tones of the record flowing seamlessly together with lyrics describing a world at its brink of destruction and fittingly bereft of desire. The 1–2 punch of the opening track “Burden of Proof/Reign” (which I count as 1 song despite being listed as 2) sets the tone of the album immediately, never letting go until slightly near the end, but then pulling back together for the last moments of the final track. If you ever wanted to know what Lagwagon would sound like as an 80s metal band, this comes as close as we’re likely to ever get.
Recommended Tracks: The Cog in the Machine, Burden of Proof/Reign, and Poison in the Well
4. Trashed (1994)
Do you want riffage? Trashed delivers riffage in spades while still providing excellent vocal melodies and lyrics. This album delivers as essentially the whole package, which makes it really hard to not place it in a higher position. If you’re a fan of the rawness and honesty of Duh, this album takes all the best elements of that record and improves everything musically and lyrically — essentially providing a better version of Duh. With so many great aspects to the record, it’s hard to nitpick much of the album, but there are a couple of points that I’ll name. Lyrically, the songs don’t take themselves as seriously as future records, and while the humorous tracks are more than enjoyable, I find they don’t have quite the staying power that songs involving serious topics do. The cover song near the end is an unnecessary addition, like “Bad Moon Rising” on Duh, they don’t improve on “Brown Eyed Girl”, rather they just make it faster and more punk — and to top it off its also the longest track on the record.
Recommended Tracks: Coffee & Cigarettes, Give It Back, and Know It All
3. Resolve (2005)
As a tribute album to original drummer Derrick Plourde (who passed away in 2005), Resolve takes you candidly through the stages of grief. As you can imagine, the mood is fairly somber throughout the majority of the album and this sadness takes many faces — sometimes masked in rage, while at other times through a catchy riff, but it eventually reaches a light at the end of the tunnel in closing track “Days of New”. Production-wise, this is the most no-frills album of their discography (at least since Duh), and this aspect is unsurprising when you take into account the speed at which the album was written and delivered in. Cape has stated that he locked himself away for a couple of weeks and just wrote nonstop. The end result is Lagwagon’s most personal album to date and one that comes across so honestly that any faults you can find can be swept aside when examining the essence of the album. The soft acoustic sections are often merely a backdrop to an influx of energy that flows through other songs like “Heartbreaking Music”, and the aptly titled “Rager”. Keeping in mind the brief writing period, it should be no surprise that the focus of the songs is on melody and lyrics rather than musical proficiency which surprisingly seems to benefit the album as a whole.
Recommended Tracks: Rager, Automatic, and Resolve
2. Double Plaidinum (1997)
Before writing this list, Double Plaidinum was my favourite Lagwagon album, but after hearing them all again it just barely misses the mark of best. What stands out about the album is how different it sounds compared to their other records. This was the first release after the original lineup had broken up (Shawn Dewey & Derrick Plourde’s departure) and it’s the only record to feature fill-in guitarist Ken Stringfellow. All of this, mixed together with the lyrics and vocal delivery, gives the listener the feeling that this could have been a sendoff letter to the fans. There’s a noticeable level of candor in Joey’s voice that resonates into songs about disintegrating relationships (“Smile” & “Choke”), possibly those of previous bandmates and the heavier/fuzzier distortion on the guitars forces a more serious listen than previous outputs. The songs flow together better here than on any other Lagwagon album, all of the songs are approximately the same length and the album sounds far better as a whole than by individual tracks — something that’s rarely done.
Recommended Tracks: Choke, Smile, and Confession
1. Hoss (1995)
From the tranquil, unassuming bass intro to the distorted, wah pedal heavy outro — Hoss is the best Lagwagon album because it’s the most complete Lagwagon album. It’s an album that forgoes the flashy guitar lines that gave them success on Trashed and instead focuses all of its energy on crafting melodies so rich that they can be stripped down to the barest instrumentation and still hold the same amount of depth (except maybe “Razor Burn”). Joey Cape has even proven how well the songs stand on their own by releasing acoustic versions of “Violins” and “Move the Car”. As great as the albums are that precede Hoss, I can’t help but remain curious about what direction the band may have gone if this original lineup would’ve stayed intact and put out a few more records. The lyrics on the songs are some of Lagwagon’s best — clever and poignant without becoming un-relatable. The guitar lines continuously work to support the melody rather than serve as a distraction, being utilized to balance the song. A particular standout track is “Move the Car”, a song that comes out of left field in mid-90s punk with odd time signatures that shouldn’t work, but somehow do. Plourde was known as a fantastic drummer, and I think Hoss is really his magnum opus, showing off not only his talent but his very unique style.
Recommended Tracks: Violins, Move the Car, and Rifle
Other Releases…..
If you find yourself needing more Lagwagon, I strongly suggest checking out their b-sides album Let’s Talk About Leftovers, their live album Live in a Dive, the EP I Think My Older Brother Used to Listen to Lagwagon, as well as 2 of my all-time favourite Lagwagon songs “Alison’s Disease” and “Status Pools” which were released on compilation albums.
