A quick glance at the song titles and lyrics may prepare one for equally striking sounds, but
Last Chance Lounge falls short of its outward promise, revealing instead a mundane collection of windy sentiments and Top 40 formulas.
McDermott's yearning tales of loneliness, love, and life on the move are ambitious, but he lacks the personality to distinguish himself from numerous pop/rock singers who have tread similar ground, and the atmospheric production is unable to support his morose obsessions. He has a knack for capturing the cosmic essence of things and people, but one feels that he's lacking in hard experience, as when he sings of being in love with a "Junkie Girl." To boot, none of the songs are under four minutes long, and what little melodic and lyrical distinctions they contain are mostly obscured by the production. The exceptions are "Murder on Her Lips" and "Annie and the Aztec Cross," whose imagery and instrumentation reveal a Tom Waits influence. ~ Jim Smith