Punx Unite: Leaders Of Today CD

The worst thing about this 32-track compilation album is the prominent display of smug, pompous pronouncements (courtesy of Jake Casualty) on the back of the insert booklet when you open the jewel case. "We are the leaders of today," he solemnly intones. "We are the relevant punk bands of today. We're not pretty, we're not fake, and we write our own music." OK, fair enough -- but has anyone ever pointed out to you "real" punks how much the music you write sounds like the punk music of 25 years ago? There's nothing wrong with that, mind you, but you might want to ease up a bit on the self-righteous swagger. In fact, part of what makes this album so much fun is the way it draws so deeply on the spirit of similar compilations for over two decades ago -- the 1981 comp Strength Through Oi! comes to mind, as do the classic California scene documents Not So Quiet on the Western Front and Let Them Eat Jellybeans! The material on this collection is wildly uneven, as it should be, from the explicitly old-school hardcore of Frontline Attack to the covertly well-crafted yowlings of the Voids, and from the almost hidden guitar heroics of Monster Squad on the positive end to the by-the-numbers ranting of the Briggs on the other. Punx Unite is a hoot, but what makes it great isn't the fact that it's "real punk." Real, schmeal. If it rocks, it rocks, and that's ultimately all that matters. ~ Rick Anderson

P/A. Casualties,Briggs,Clit 45 ,Forgotten,Toxic Narcotic,Viru