False Starts & Broken Promises has been met very enthusiastically by the U.K. press, comparing the album to "the ingenuity of Bowie's 70's floorshow and the wild spirit of Tom Waits" (MOJO Magazine) and to the "cabaret angst of '70s Lou Reed, dust bowl Mariachi, and Steely Dan's cynicism" (UNCUT Magazine). The album features guest appearances from the legendary Robyn Hitchcock and Terry Edwards (Nick Cave, Spiritualized, PJ Harvey.)

Last Man Standing formed after singer Max Vanderwolf moved from his hometown of New York City to London in 2002. Vanderwolf met his to-be guitarist Chris Cordoba at an AA meeting daytrip at the Chelsea Flower show. After an initial period of hesitation lasting 6 minutes and 37 seconds, Vanderwolf and Cordoba dropped out of AA and began recording Vanderwolf's next collection of songs with the assistance of a despicable assortment of cruisers, losers and substance abusers. Soon Last Man Standing was named "London's Best Unsigned Band" by The Guardian newspaper, leading to the courtship of many record labels, of which they chose the acclaimed Wildflower label.

Last Man Standing are regularly invited to perform at festivals such as Bestival, Glastonbury, Lovebox Weekender. At Glastonbury, they curate and promote their own tent called the Last Man Standing Saloon. At Secret Garden Party the band famously gatecrashed and pirated a stage with PA performing 5 times across the decadent summer festival weekend.