VARIOUS ARTISTS
YOU CALL THIS MUSIC?! VOL. 2
GC RECORDS
Everybody has an idea about what is and isn't punk, but there has always been one sure way to test for authenticity: real punk is never easy to listen to. Instead, it's a genre that has always demanded something out of an audience, from self-examination to a skeptical perspective toward authority to a willingness to abandon any firm definition of punk rock in the first place. And whether poppy, garage-y, grind-y or arty, the bands on this GC Records compilation are punk rock. You Call This Music?! has the feel of a mix tape made by an enthusiastic punk fan with good taste in energetic and boundary-bending music: most of the bands present a variation on the tool-shed punk ethos (grinding guitars, pounding drums, sandpaper vocals), but several dare to add electronic drums and synthesizers to the mix. Standouts include the always energetic and catchy Toys That Kill, Anaheim garage/pop band the Lipstick Pickups, soundscapers No Content, the neo-new wave of Subincision, and Norwegian power pop band Pornshot. It's impressive that the wide variety of punk subgenres presented on this disc can be put back to back without the unfocused feel endemic to so many multiband compilations. The bands here are unified by passion and a sense of fun, which holds them together much more tightly than whether or not they play rock punk, garage N roll, or whichever silly descriptor you want to use. For only $3, there's more than enough good music to justify purchasing this CD. It's the cheapest re-definition of punk you're gonna find.
Contact: www.gcrecords.com; GC Records, P.O. Box 3743, Laguna Hills, CA 92654.
—Rex Reason OC and Long Beach bands and musicians! Mail your CDs and tapes (along with your vital contact info, plus any impending performance dates) for possible review to: Locals Only,OC Weekly, P.O. Box 10788, Costa Mesa, CA 92627-0247.
