Last American Hero (album)

Last American Hero is an album by American experimental artist James Ferraro, recorded in 2008 and released in March 2010 on Olde English Spelling Bee.

Last American Hero
Studio album by James Ferraro
Released	March 1, 2010
Recorded	2008
Genre	Hypnagogic pop[1]
Length	29:57
Label	Olde English Spelling Bee
Producer	James Ferraro
James Ferraro chronology
On Air (2009) Last American Hero (2010) Night Dolls with Hairspray (2010)

Background

Last American Hero was inspired by Ferraro's experiences of living in a "kind of insane gated community for senior citizens" where his grandparents resided in Florida.[2] He recalled feeling like he was in a "weird science experiment of consumerism" in the community, which consisted of "large flat-screen TVs, and insane Ikea couches that you can’t even sit on because they’re too big", as well as Chrysler PT Cruisers.[2] As Ferraro explained, "this infrastructure of gated communities and Wal-Marts and Targets, and these complexes of shopping – that was their entire world."[2]

The album was recorded around 2008 and reissued later on Olde English Spelling Bee as a vinyl release.[3] It incorporates heavily phased, bluesy guitar playing and saturated synthesizers, delay and loop effects, and thin, compressed recording quality.[1] The album cover is a picture of a Best Buy storefront along with a superimposed image from the courtroom TV program Judge Judy.[4][1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Fact	[1]

Writing for Fact, Kiran Sande called Last American Hero "a magnificent record" and wrote that "Ferraro’s willingness to engage with the real banal, liminal ugliness of consumer life is undeniably interesting, and on this album at least, the music feels emboldened rather than burdened by it."[1] Critic David Keenan called it "fantastic" and described it as "a series of meditations on American concepts of heroism and freedom as refracted via MTV, Hollywood and various black magic marketing strategies."[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"F-150 Night Eros At Highways End"	11:58
2.	"Blacktop Tumble Weed"	8:54
3.	"Headlines (Access Hollywood)"	7:15

See also

• Criticism of capitalism
• Vaporwave
• 2010 in music

References

1. Sande, Kiran. "James Ferraro: Last American Hero". Fact Magazine. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
2. "Red Bull Music Academy".
3. Simpson, Paul. "Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
4. Reynolds, Simon (March 2011). "'Hypnagogic pop' and the landscape of Southern California". frieze (137). Retrieved 4 July 2016.
5. Keenan, David. "Last American Hero – James Ferraro". Volcanic Tongues. Retrieved 11 May 2017.