Drive Thru / Tree Brain Records sampler, Various Artists
It may come as a surprise to learn that Drive Thru have never teamed up with a UK label for an official release - and aisde from Echofreddy, The Maple State and Furthest Drive Home, not a single UK band has ever appeared on a DTR release. Until now. Rising UK label Tree Brain Records has put together a cheap sampler featuring a combined effort of DTR and TBR bands - and at £2 it's excellent value.
While Drive Thru's roster isn't as good as it once was, you cannot deny that HelloGoodbye and The Early November are not pop-punk 'heavyweights', so their inclusion on this sampler is a welcome one. Dave melillo, Houston Calls and I Am The Avalanche also feature with strong songs, meaning your £2 is well spent before you even get to any new band. And while House of Fools and Socratic don't really shake the system, Drive Thru come through this sampler with their reputation intact.
Tree Brain do pretty well too. Kill The Arcade are a couple of choruses away from being prime players in the UK scene, while Skys Day Off are another band that show plenty of promise. The twee Farwell Finito! match up pretty well to Tonight Is Goodbye too. Overall this is a bargain at £2 and is likely to introduce you to new bands no matter which side of the Pond you live on. And that is very much a good thing. The US probably outdo the UK - just - but if this is the future, we're in good hands.
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