Don't Be Scared It's Only a Fearless Records Sampler, Various Artists
Rule number 1 of a sampler; always put a damn good song at the start, otherwise the listener will most definitely get bored and go back to his or her Cher CDs. Rule 2; put a variety of artists with different styles on it - in order to avoid everyone asking what track it's up to, and rule 3; make it cheap. These rules are universal, honest. Just look at the 'Now' compilations that come out
Anyways, Fearless have done their homework, and boy have they done it well. Top marks for funky packaging, but hey we're not judging on asthetics here, so content will be the main focus of this poorly constructed review. Dynamite boy are first up with 'catching on', a catchy little number (sorry) which has a superb riff to kick off the preceedings. They are classic pop punk, upbeat, melodic not too meaningful but then there isn't enough time for seriousness every second of the day. 'Someone forgot' sounded odd when I first heard it, starting off like some old Blink song from Cheshire Cat, but played with greater knowledge of how to play guitar (read: sounds better). Thankfully it does turn into a slow anthem about a minute and a half through. 'Sky's the limit' has yet another catchy riff bolted onto the front of it, but unfortunately ends up being all too predictable, which is a shame, because the chorus hasn't been pushed out in record time and reminds me of Mxpx.
Glasseater, which sounds like a melodic punk band with a bit of hardcore scream thrown in for good measure, sound excellent in track number four - 'Seven years bad luck' (also the name of their album), the plus side is as well as the emotion that comes through strong vocals they can actually sing well, and as such means the backing and bridge vocals between choruses are supporting, rather than crippling, the rest of the tune. However, 'Face to the Floor' and 'A New Day' don't quite compare to the standard set by their first track, still it's a band that you'll definitely want to look into if you've been looking for a crossover band between the two almost at odds genres.
The relatively new kids on the block Junction 18 choose 'Sweet Steps' from their debut album to impress us with, and is every bit as good as when I reviewed it. 'We're Quit' isn't quite as accomplished, so it's understandable why it wasn't included on the album, but follow up 'Granite Street Knife Fight' is pushing Junction 18's anger limit with pace and a sound that gives an impression of furiousness and desperation.
Anyone already familiar with At the Drive-In's sounds will know what to expect from their 3 contributions, mostly technical noise yet woven together in a very unique fashion. Of the three, 'Doorman's Placebo' for me was the most appealing, but then , I'm not too keen on their sound, so tended to skip these tracks quite a lot. Admittedly, to get to Bigwig.
Hearing that Bigwig's album has been delayed has depressed me, seeings as 'Sore Loser' has become a track much repeated on my stereo. It is classic bigwig formula; a lightning quick riff, fast vocals and the all distinctive voice; my only quarrel is that the riff sounds a little like 'Boardumb' but hey i'll let it slip. 'The Girl in the Green Jacket' is an odd affair, but is still entertaining and worth valuable seconds of your day (yeah valuable my ass).
The Aquabats are also superb, 'Pizza Day' is an undisputed classic, as is 'I fell Asleep on my arm', which manages to successfully, no more than successfully, triumphantly take the piss out of Korn and Limp Bizkit, in only a way the bat commander knows how. If you don't have an aquabats album, be sure to purchase on in the near future.
As for the lonely Kings and 30 foot fall, well, to be honest I wasn't too impressed, but that's not to say that others won't like them. Overall, a good sampler, and a wealthy 4 out 5 stars for Fearless and their crew.
nick
