Under The Fretboard: The Last Internationale
Happy Holidays, blues rock fans! This edition of Under The Fretboard is my gift to all you lovers of the classic protest songs of the 60s and 70s. Their fusion of blues rock, classic soul, folk heritage, and political themes blends raw musical power with fearless conviction. Just ask mentor and “Comandante” Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave), who said, “The Last Internationale are one of my favorites in the next wave of rebel rockers. They’re raw and real and mix East Village rock sensibilities with Battleship Potemkin firepower.” I agree with the firepower comment. This band continually hits home like few others.
The Last Internationale – Blues Rock for the New Revolution
The origin story is classic. Two kids from New York, Delila Paz, a bassist and keyboardist with towering soul-blues vocals, and Edgey Pires, a political science major and guitarist with a gritty, electrifying style, met through a mutual friend. The musical duo quickly bonded over folk protest songs, classic 60s soul, and the deep blues of the American South. They began writing modern protest songs influenced by artists like Howlin’ Wolf, Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Joan Baez, and Woody Guthrie. The band’s name references “The Internationale,” the socialist movement that has existed since the late 1800s. They intentionally wanted to sound more like a movement than a band.
Their earliest recording efforts are difficult to source. While they were building a reputation for explosive live shows, their anti-establishment themes did not resonate within the recording industry. Their 2008 self-titled debut album, The Last Internationale, has little online presence aside from references. It has been described as acoustic-driven protest blues built around storytelling and political urgency. Articles suggest the band does not even retain the rights to the album.
2011’s follow-up, Choose Your Killer, is almost equally elusive. A full recording is currently available on YouTube. It blends folk and garage blues with punk defiance, featuring classic covers and original tracks that would later appear on subsequent projects. Electrified blues rock is predominant on their 2013 EP New York, I Do Mind Dying. This five-track mini-masterpiece consists mostly of covers, except for Edgey’s blues guitar-laden “Black Cat” from Choose Your Killer. Other highlights include Lead Belly’s “Bourgeois Blues,” “Mean Mistreatin’ Mama” by Elmore James and Leroy Carr, and a nod to Buffy Sainte-Marie with “Cod’ine.”
2014 saw the band’s first and only major-label release. We Will Reign, released on Epic Records, featured several heavy hitters from the rock world. Producers Brendan O’Brien (Pearl Jam, AC/DC) and Brendan Benson (The Raconteurs) were joined by Morello’s bandmate Brad Wilk on drums, who also toured with the band in support of the album. That same year, the band performed “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Indian Blood,” originally from Choose Your Killer, on The Late Show with David Letterman. “Wanted Man,” a streaming favorite, was my first exposure to the band and remains a personal favorite. Other standout tracks include the title track “We Will Reign,” “Killing Fields,” “Battleground,” and a cover of “Baby It’s You,” originally sung by the Shirelles in 1961. Additional favorites include the inspirational “Fire,” “I’ll Be Alright,” and the somber ballad “Devil’s Dust,” which fuses an intimate relationship story with the reality of a miner dying from the very labor that puts food on the table. For a major-label debut, We Will Reign was an impressive effort and boldly reflected their activist heart. This exposure led to opening slots on tours with The Who and Robert Plant.
Soon, the band found itself struggling with the label over creative control and pressure to adopt a more mainstream image. The label wanted to rename the band “Delila.” With their identity and creative essence threatened, they walked away from the major-label system and attempted to rebuild from the ground up. However, the corporate music machine shut them out, and their efforts to go independent were met with closed doors and ghosted calls. They went broke and were evicted. Disenchanted, the band moved to Europe, where the rebuild finally began to take shape.
It started with the This Bootleg Kills series, an apt title given their trials. This Bootleg Kills… Vol. 1 was released in 2016, followed by This Bootleg Kills… Pop Stars Vol. II in 2017. Both collections consist of originals and covers drawn from live recordings, demos, outtakes, and stripped-down acoustic sessions. They are only available for download from the band’s website. If you enjoy their more readily available material, spending $20 ($10 each) gets you a strong collection of rarely heard tracks while supporting an incredible independent artist. Highlights from Vol. 1 include “Timber,” an acoustic blues piece about labor rising up against authority, the blues rocker “Tempest Blues,” and covers like Neil Young’s “Hey Hey, My My” and Woody Guthrie’s “Deportees.” The collection also includes a live version of “Battleground” and the revolutionary anthem “Workers of the World Unite.” Vol. II features classic covers such as Aretha Franklin’s “Think,” an acoustic Led Zeppelin version of “Babe, I’m Gonna Leave You,” originally covered by Joan Baez in 1962, and Skip James’ “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues.” The self-released TLI Unplugged offers a similar acoustic flavor with an eight-track mix of originals and covers.
2017 also saw the release of Live at Doghouse Studios, another nearly impossible-to-find album recorded during the band’s online StageIt concert. Released as a limited-edition CD through the band’s website, it is no longer listed and rarely appears on resale markets. Track listings indicate a mix of We Will Reign songs and early previews of material that would appear on later releases.
From the ashes of their corporate music experience, 2019’s Soul on Fire signaled a full rebirth for The Last Internationale. The album retained their defiance and political messaging but added renewed emotional ferocity reflective of their live performances. “We made the conscious decision to put all of our sweat, anger, frustrations, hate, and love into writing the album.” The record was independently produced, with Morello stepping in as producer and Queens of the Stone Age drummer Joey Castillo completing the power trio.
Blending the emotional intensity of Paz and Pires with the hard rock influences of Morello and Castillo, Soul on Fire is the hardest-hitting TLI release to date. This is evident from the outset, with the guitar-effect-laden “Intro” transitioning into the pounding “Hard Times,” a reflection of life’s struggles drawn from lived experience. Raw emotion flows through all twelve tracks, from the slide-driven blues rocker “Tempest Blues” to the brooding throwback metal of “Freak Revolution” and the psychedelic hammer “5th World.” “Need Somebody” slows the pace to spotlight Delila’s vocal range, while the title track serves as the album’s most polished and soulful declaration. “Soul on Fire” is catharsis, an anthem about staying true to identity and passion, as well as a tribute to musical heroes: “I’ve got John Coltrane Love Supreme, Jimi on my strings, Janis baby baby Kozmic Blues, Ray Charles visionary dreams, I got Nina Simone when I sing.” The first time I heard that verse, my eyes watered. “Freedom Town,” a bonus track on deluxe editions, delivers a no-holds-barred folk-gospel perspective on the United States.
After pouring all their resources into the album, Paz and Pires turned to crowdfunding to finance distribution. Fans rallied, but misfortune struck again when the platform went out of business before anything shipped, costing both the band and fans thousands. Then COVID hit. Unable to tour, they returned to Arda Recorders in Portugal, where Soul on Fire was recorded, and were joined by members of the French rock band Shaka Ponk.
The eight tracks on 2020’s Live at Arda Recorders feature five songs from Soul on Fire, recorded live in-studio to capture the performance energy that defined the band. “Soul on Fire” arguably surpasses the studio version, alongside live renditions of “Hard Times,” “Try Me,” and “Mind Ain’t Free.” The aptly titled “Hit ’Em With Your Blues,” released as a single in 2018, and the previously unreleased blues ballad “Fall Back Down” round out the album, along with the powerhouse track “Running for a Dream,” an anthemic take on the plight of those seeking a better future at the border. The message, however, resonates with anyone striving for a better life. All tracks were also filmed and are available on YouTube.
Three years later, a fully produced version of “Running for a Dream” became the title track of what may be the band’s most diverse and polished release yet. Running for a Dream opens with the ominous “When They Come (They Bring Guns),” which flows directly into “1984,” an Orwellian rocker reminiscent of Rage Against the Machine. The band explores an 80s sound with the catchy “Ghettoway Driver,” followed by “Hoka Hey,” a thumping classic rock tribute to First Nations people. The album continues with “You Gotta Fight for Love,” a slower, anthemic ballad, and a soulful cover of “Unchain My Heart,” following Jenny Owen Youngs’ version rather than Ray Charles’. The final stretch includes the eclectic pop-soul “Know Better,” the 90s-tinged rocker “Hero,” and my personal favorite, “Edith Groove,” a demo from the Bootleg Kills series with a breezy road-trip vibe.
Since the 2023 release of Running for a Dream, the band has toured Europe’s summer festival circuit, opening for Guns N’ Roses and Halestorm while headlining smaller venues. They rarely perform in the United States and are currently touring with Rival Sons. TLI also maintains a robust YouTube presence with over seven million views, offering fans access to live performances, Bootleg Kills material, and unreleased covers like Lennon’s “Imagine” and Springsteen’s “Land of Hope and Dreams.”
The band has released several singles leading up to their next album, including covers of MC5’s “Kick Out the Jams” and Dylan’s “Masters of War.” The band has announced that a live album, Live in Europe, will accompany the upcoming studio album New Storm Coming, though release dates have yet to be confirmed.
In an era when music often feels safe or sanitized, The Last Internationale stands defiantly apart. Their identity as an activist blues rock band is not branding. It is philosophy. They write for working-class communities, for those overlooked by mainstream culture, and for anyone who believes music should challenge the status quo. Their songs do not just entertain. They confront, question, and awaken. Their authenticity resonates throughout their catalog, and they are loved for it.