Album Review: The Last Vinci – 15 Minutes At a Time (Narrow Door Records)

Four years on from the release of ‘The Revolution is Made Together’, alternative rock band, The Last Vinci, are back with ’15 Minutes at a Time’. Out on April 17th, 2026, via Narrow Door Records.

To talk about this album, I must first talk about the story behind it. Which is born from the simple advice of ’take it 15 minutes at a time’. Advice given to frontman Alex Vinci from his wife having been diagnosed with a chronic illness. This mantra runs through the album like a thick vein, channelling the fear, uncertainty, hope, and resilience that has made up the past few years of Alex’s life. A life-changing diagnosis transformed into an overwhelming source of meaning.

It’s not often that we get to hear something as personal and profound as this. Something that has an incredible amount of feeling within and something that expands upon the musicality of the band behind it. The Last Vinci might have been transformed by the past few years, but fans of their previous output will feel right at home here.

There are notable differences though with two of the most obvious being the overall tone that gives things a rawer edge and the variety on offer. From high-powered energetic rocky efforts to dramatic melody-laced listens and everything in between, The Last Vinci dig deep into their musical bag of tricks and showcase an array of delightful sounds.

Kicking off with the potent Come Back Home, where the emotive core of the album is exposed via expressive vocal messages and moody melody. Before Living Certified Disaster gets the heart racing, the hips swaying, the fist pumping, and the head banging. This is The Last Vinci with bite, delivering infectious heavy alternative music with confidence.

Flowing effortlessly into Begging for Some Help and the title track, where we can really hear the growth within the band and how they’ve been encouraged to experiment more. The former, addictively weird and fascinatingly wonderful, filled with all manner of head turning elements, such as the vocal shouts near the end. The latter, a fantastic example of a track taking the listener on a thought-provoking journey courtesy of a personal lyrics delivered with passion.

The halfway point of the album arrives, and passes, in noisy fashion via the impressive Black Wall. Before Everything Behind threatens to cause a torrent of tears, especially when it powers up, and Temporary gets the feet tapping, the fingers snapping, and the head nodding along to some killer hooks and a punchy chorus. Outstanding stuff.

I think one of the more impressive things about the album is how it manages to keep the ’15 minutes at a time’ mantra in place throughout. It never stops being the focal point way beyond lyrical content and that makes for a level of engagement that most bands dream of. Engagement that ensures most will be all in on the topsy-turvy rock journey that is Better to Never Know. That most will be fascinated by the experimentation behind The Hollow Show, and that most will be thrilled by the brilliant madness of Unbalanced Addressed. Each as expressive as the other and as liable to stay jammed in the brain for days and weeks afterwards.

What’s left? A heart-wrenching slice of beauty called Moon Lullaby that has added potency beyond the sweet melody thanks to guest vocals that come from Alex’s daughter. It’s a strong closing track that fits the tone, oozing authenticity and serving as reminder of the human side of things.

The Last Vinci are an incredibly underrated band having consistently released great music to date. This album only strengthens that opinion. This is their best album to date, and while its form comes from something none of us would ever wish to have happened, we can take solace in the fact that the band have been able to turn such trials into something positive.

The Last Vinci – 15 Minutes at a Time Track Listing:

1. Come Back Home
2. Living Certified Disaster
3. Begging for Some Help
4. 15 Minutes at a Time
5. Black Wall
6. Everything Behind
7. Temporary
8. Better to Never Know
9. The Hollow Show
10. Unbalanced Unaddressed
11. Moon Lullaby

Links

LinkTree | Website | Facebook | Instagram