Don't Wait Up is Bane's newest and FINAL studio album. Up to this point, the last full length album that Bane recorded was The Note in 2005 making Don't Wait Up their first studio album in 8 years. In a music scene where longevity is rare, Bane has managed to delivered some of the most solid releases in hardcore while maintaining an intense touring schedule since the late 90's.
Listening to Don't Wait Up is like meeting up with a long lost friend...you pick up right where you left off. "Non–Negotiation" and "All the Way Through" pulled me right in with chugging guitars, fast beats and smart lyrics in true Bane fashion. Surprisingly, one of the highest points of the record is "Calling Hours" which has numerous guest vocals from the likes of: Pat Flynn (Have Heart), David Wood (Down to Nothing) and Walter Delgado(Rotting Out). Although Bane has not had guest vocals on tracks in the past I found this vocal style a nice change of pace and reminder of the many awesome tours Bane has done and the generation of Hardcore bands they influenced
Don't Wait Up ends with a track titled "Final Backward Glance" which is a fitting end to not only a consistent and well thought out record but a decade and a half of great music and memories. "Final Backward Glance" ends with an energy filled chorus that practically forces you to shout along as if it were the last song of a set. I found this track similar to "Ali vs. Frazier I" off of Give Blood which made my listening experience quite a nostalgic one. I don't know exactly what it was about "Final Backward Glance" that caused me to ponder life in the Give Blood Era of 2001, but I found it refreshing to reminisce regardless. "Final Backward Glance" made me feel as timeless as Bane's sound.
By the time the track ended I felt some very mixed emotions about the album. Firstly, it made me glad to know that Bane had the opportunity to end their career on their own terms. We can name so many amazing bands we wish had the same opportunity before they disbanded. Bane truly has control of their destiny and mark they left on Hardcore. It's really an achievement when a Hardcore band can be consistent yet innovative. Too many bands in Hardcore tend to become stale with their sound and end up blending in rather than sticking out. This is not how Bane will be remembered.
The listening experience was also a bit of melancholy one. By the time "Calling Hours" ended I began realizing "holy shit, Bane is over." Thanks to Bane and a handful of other bands, I was introduced to a different side of punk and a different side of myself. I had no way of knowing this experience would last a lifetime. I like to think that Bane would like to be remembered as a band that influenced many and gave us something to yell for not at. This album is a statement that backs that up.
If you have never listened to Bane, I would say start with Give Blood not Don't Wait Up. It would be like reading the last chapter of a book and then reading from the beginning. If you love Bane, listen to the entire album in order. Although there some great stand alone tracks, the beest experience for listening is the entire work.