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Two short reviews I did for the Lib Dem youth and student magazine:
Rock Against Bush – Volume 1
Price: £9.99 on Amazon.co.uk
Label – Fat Wreck Chords
I like Politics, and I like pop-punk. I can assume if you can read this I share at least one of these interests with you. A political CD from a load of punk bands seems like a strange concept at first, but as put by Fat Mike in the album cover “It’s not about ‘let’s be punk rock and hate the government’; It’s about ‘let’s be punk rock and change the government” However while the CD may be funding Anti-Bush campaigns and candidates, it doesn’t mean all the songs are political….or good.
First thing you’ll notice about the track line up is that there are a large amount of bands on there that aren’t very well known (I’ve only heard of ½ the bands) but there are also some great bands on there, Alkaline Trio, The Atari’s, Less Thank Jake, NOFX to name but a few. And most of the big bands have some great tracks on this CD, but not all of them. Such as The Atari’s cover of Heaven is Falling. There are some stand out tracks on this album, however they are few and far between. But there is a nice mix of some different styles of punk and the odd political track and George Bush rant. Also a DVD of Anti-Bush stuff and 40 reasons to hate George Bush (like you need 40…)
Overall, some absolutely class tracks and the fact that it’s Anti-Bush doesn’t make up for the fact that there are some big piles of crap here.
3/5 – A good effort, but not enough great tracks by big names, but still worth buying if you’re a pop-punk fan or just want to get a CD that hates Bush!
Best Tracks – “Warbrain” by Alkaline Trio and “The Brightest Bulb has burned out” by Less than Jake and Billy Bragg
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Alkaline Trio – Good Mourning
Price: £9.99 on Amazon.co.uk
Label: Vagrant
When asked to review my favourite CD, it wasn’t much of a contest which band would be in it, but more about which CD. I decided that in the end it had to be this one – a simply superb pop-punk CD filled with emotion and the dark lyrics that typify Alkaline Trio.
It’s easy to notice how much clearer the band sound now they have better production values, although the raw sound the Trio possessed during albums like “Maybe I’ll catch fire” is something some people will miss. But after the album that brought some fans were not so keen on, which contained far fewer of the dark and brilliant lyrics and songs that Alkaline Trio were known for, and instead songs like “Stupid Kid”, the band really get back on form in this album. With lyrics like “Step one, slit my throat, step two play in my blood” and “Your coffin or mine?” you can clearly see the same kind of lyrics that were in previous albums return, if not even better.
Musically and not just lyrically, the CD contains both faster and harder songs, in the form of “All on Black” and “We’ve had enough” and also slower melodic songs like “Blue in the Face” and some incredibly catchy riffs.
The only critisim that you can really level at this album is that some of the tracks aren’t quite as good as the others. Slightly tailing off in the middle with distinctly average tracks, like “Doner Party” and “Every thug needs a lady” but these are still great tracks, just not quite as great, and there are no “Radio” style instant classics, though some tracks come close. Also it does suffer from a lack of bonus features such as video’s, but makes up for that with two of it’s best tracks – “Dead End Road” and “Old School Reasons”
This is an amazing album, and if it is not in your collection, it should be.
Verdict – 5/5 – Buy it moron!
Best tracks – “All on Black” and “This could be love”
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