Liberation - Songs To Benefit PETA, Various Artists
I'm not going to get involved with the politics of this release simply because I'm a meat eater, and that means that anything I do say will be hypocritical in extremis. I'll just say that this is a fine collection of artists who have given songs so that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) as a benefit CD, and is released on Fat Mike's Fat Wreck label. Also included on the CD are video messages from Midtown and Good Charlotte, and some genuinely moving and disturbing material from PETA, including hidden footage inside a slaughterhouse. It's harsh watching, and the CD serves a purpose.
Well, as for the music, it's pretty damn good. Hot Water Music kick it all off with the rollicking 'Remedy' that explodes into life and grabs the attention of all within earshot. I've heard very little from HWM but this is impressive stuff - abrasive and powerful. Good Riddance and Goldfinger are up next, weighing in with 'Less De Palma, More Fellini' and 'Fuck Ted Nugent' respectively, and the Goldfinger track is just fantastic. It's funny and serious at the same time, meaning that the message it conveys is slightly more graspable - it might seem like a punk rock dumbing down when placed next to Propagandhi's 'Purina Hall of Fame' but the fact remains that it's a quality song. The aforementioned Propagandhi offering is possibly the best song on the collection, preceded by a thought-provoking audio clip before thrusting itself out of your speakers, all razor sharp lyrics and lightning guitars. Blinding stuff, all topped off with a solo that could cut glass.
A band I'd never heard of by the name of District 7 come up with a powerful punk rock song that sounds like Strung Out fronted by Jason Perry (a Good Thing). A welcome surprise, because to be honest I was waiting for the big hitters from Fat, but this is an superb song from a band that I've heard nothing about. Everyone's heard of Aussie punkers Frenzal Rhomb and with good reason, because they know melody like Jordan knows cock. 'Russell Crowe's Band' brings a lighter side to proceedings, seeing as it's got frankly fuck all to do with anything PETA-related but hey, it's another good track. How could you have an animal rights compilation without Anti-Flag? You can't (well, not on this one anyway), so the distinctive buzzsaw guitars and driving basslines of the most incendiary bunch of 19 year olds in the world is another feather in the cap of an already mighty powerful compilation.
The man behind Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst, fronts the baleful and beautiful Desaparecidos for the track 'Man And Wife, The Latter (Damaged Goods), and this sits well with Midtown's acoustic version of 'This House Is Not A Home' as slower songs that bring the overall pace down a couple of nothces yet still retaining the emotional content and honesty of the collection. These two songs are bisected by Bigwig's 'Waste', a melodic slab of punk rock that crunches and swings around with the grace of a brick yet still managing to be damn good in the process. And of course, NOFX close the collection with 'Clams Have Feelings Too' from their Pump Up The Valuum album. I'd forgotten how good this track was until I heard it on here, and while it's hardly the most cerebral or serious of songs it's an example of a sense of humour coupled with catchy riffs.
So what's the bad news? Well, The Faint come up with some awful bleepy Fisher Price My-First-Keyboard shit that is really not my thing whatsoever, and 'The Hero Will Drown' by Story of the Year is exactly the kind of template emo crap that is clogging up punk rock right now. I'm not a big fan of The Used either, but hey, some people like them. Overall this is a damn good quality compilation, put together with a view to actually doing something that someone believes in, rather than just display the summer collection of whatever label. This isn't an attack on any label in particular at all, it's just that you wade through so many crap compilations that this is very refreshing. And it's being sold for some ridiculously cheap price on www.peta2.com, so there's no excuse.
Ben
www.peta2.com
