v/a "This is Your Establishment" compilation CD
[Lorelei]
This unusually long compilation is a benefit for the Center for Constitutional Rights, a non-profit organization "committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change". Most of the songs have already been released on other records/labels (some of which are majors, which surprises me), with one or two previously unavailable tracks, and the general style is pretty poppy emo-ish sort of stuff that ranges from the catchy and radio friendly to the slightly heavier. So one minute it's radio bands like Yellowcard, or a Victory Records act like Spitalfield (a great and highly underrated band that deserves to be huge if you ask me), etc. Autopilot Off covers Bad Religion's "Generator", and Good Riddance covers Black Flag's "My War", but most of the songs are originals. A few standouts for me are Day Two -a little heavier in a melodic metalcore meets hints of tactful nu-metal or something like that; Slick Shoes - a musical mix of classic Fat Wreck styled pop punk and the slightly more modern sound, but with unique vocals that aren't as high pitched or whiny as often associated with the genre these days; and Rufio's really tight performance with some faster than average tempos. The vocals lack catchiness and could be stronger, but the music is fucking slick. Staring Back's "Me, Five Years From Now, Somewhere Else" is a great fucking song as well, straight up and to the point, reminiscent of Shades Apart to me on some level, but poppier... very memorable. Great work... possibly the best song herein. Of course there are some really crappy songs as well, and a few that suffer from slightly muddy or ineffective recordings, but with well over an hour of music I'd be stunned if everything was listenable to my ears. The layout is pretty minimal and has some text about the focus of the compilation underneath the CD, some decent artwork, and then extensive tracklists outlining where the tracks originally appeared. It's not too detailed in the end, but it gives you most of what you'd want to know from a collection of songs such as this. In the end this is your average compilation. It's about 25% really good, 25% okay, 25% total crap, and 25% just boring and indifferent. I actually plan to check out at least a few of these bands further based on their songs here, so on that level the compilation does succeed. (6/10)
Running time - 78:45, Tracks: 25
[Notable tracks: Day Two, Spitalfield, Near Miss, Rufio, Staring Back]
Lorelei Records - http://www.loreleirecords.com

This review has been displayed 1438 times.