Music, musings and miscellanea

It’s been eight years since Fat Wreck Chords released one of these infamous comps. Back in the late-’90s and early 2000s, these el-cheapo collections worked as a fantastic introduction to punk, or at least the pop-friendly type of punk that dragged the genre into the mainstream a la bands like Blink-182 and Simple Plan.

Part of their appeal of course, was the cost: five bucks was a steal back when actually stealing music would get you a ride in the back of a cop car.

So it’s not surprising that the label abandoned the series back in 2002 in favour of more pointed, often politically-charged comps.

Volume 7 though picks up where Uncontrollable Fatulance left off in 2002, offering 22 tracks from the label’s deep roster of bands. There’s a good dose of old favourites (Strung Out, Chixdiggit!) along with relative newcomers (Cobra Skull, Old Man Markley).

If you, like me, remember these collections as a somewhat homogenous sounding take on punk, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the depth, diversity and quality of the material on offer here. The opening salvo from nine-piece punk bluegrass crew Old Man Markley is especially nice, as is the laid-back ska of Mad Caddies and Celtic punk fury of old favourites the Real McKenzies. Of course, Teenage Bottlerocket and vets like No Use For A Name (who deliver a great Cheap Trick cover) and of course NOFX keep things firmly grounded in the label’s core sound.

Fat Music Vol. 7 is without a doubt one of the strongest entries into the Fat Music series, presenting a label overview with no weak links. Anyone who abandoned the label figuring they’d grown out of that phase of their life will have their love reinvigorated by bands both old and new.

No Use For a Name – “Dream Police”