Are you sick of the same old crap compilations? Do you long daily for a cd you can actually listen to all the way through without wanting to kill yourself? Well then, we have just what you are looking for! It's the new Atticus compilation Dragging the Lake II.
Los Angeles based record company, SideOneDummy, and Atticus Clothing Gear team up to bring you this praiseworthy 26-song disc featuring the creme de la creme of punk, emo, ska and hardcore. As tough as it is, this disc manages to do what a compilation is actually supposed to do, which is to assemble a whole collection, not just a sprinkling, of good songs that deliver.
`I'm not Invisible' by Rocket From the Crypt is an exceptional pick for an opening track, and really pulls the listener in. With no dead space between songs, Atticus II hardly gives you time to contemplate skipping a track or ejecting it. You're hit with track after track of solid, first-rate tunes from bands like Thrice, Sparta, Finch, Hot Water Music, The Transplants, and Taking Back Sunday.
About halfway through comes `All My People', by The Suicide Machines which is a high-powered, punk anthem that will keep you hyped and thirsting more. About ten songs later comes ska heroes The Mighty Mighty Bosstones with the title track off their latest release A Jackknife to a Swan, which, as usual with these guys, does not fail to please. Atticus II ends on a sweet, wistful note, bringing you a live (although it's so good it doesn't sound it) version of `Crawl' by Alkaline Trio from their recent BBC sessions in London.
In this day and age of downloads and cd burners, shoppers have a lot less respect for the compilation because they know they can just make their own. But with comps like this one around, that attitude is bound to change. You not only get the A-listers of these genres, but also get introduced to the laudable, lesser-known bands that you may not have otherwise found. Plus, you're getting unreleased tracks by Blink 182, Down by Law, Drop Kick Murphy's, Hot Rod Circuit, and Slick Shoes that you aren't going to find on the internet. This disc, that hits stores March 18th, is the promising second installment in a series of compilations by Atticus and I can only hope the glory will continue.
If all this isn't enough to get you to go out and pick this one up, I don't know what is! So go support good music and buy this album…Now!
Stand-out Tracks
Thrice – `To Awake and Avenge the Dead'
Sparta – `Vacant Skies'
Slick Shoes – `Once Again'
Taking Back Sunday – `You're so last summer'
Over My Dead Body – `Be There'
Miss Doubtfire
shannon (at) unearthed com
