The Flatliners – Division Of Spoils

Canadian punk troupe The Flatliners have amassed a colourful career when it comes to pushing themselves forward with each new record.  From their early ska infused days, to their scratchy roughhousing middle years and their latest evolution which finds the band seamlessly shifting between clean melody and throaty punk rock massacre, The Flatliners retain a strong sense of direction regardless which way they face.  Nowhere is that clearer than their recent odds-and-ends collection, Division Of Spoils.  Compiling a host of 7” singles, Eps and a handful of previously unreleased tracks, The Flatliners amass an impressively cohesive twenty-three song romp that easily stands its ground amidst more their formal discography.

Opening with the carrot of unreleased goodies, The Flatliners pull the curtain back on a duo of newly discovered gems.  Recorded during the Dead Language sessions, “Lifers” and “Broken Men” exemplify how polished the steady four-piece has become in their songwriting.  Both tracks take showcase Chris Cresswell’s adept back and forth between clean wiry wails and piercing throat-born screams.  Unlike many vocalists with notable career transformations, Cresswell retains and builds upon the best elements of his prior self, maintaining a much appreciated thread of continuity in each sonic evolution.   Born from the same recording session, “How Trouble” surfaces later in the collection, retaining a similar vibe with a bit of a more of a straight up punk-rock vibe like as per other previously released b-sides like “This Song Is Like Thunder And Lightning.”  Otherwise, Division Of Spoils comes mostly loaded with standouts from The Flatliners’ renegade punk rock days (although a few fast and furious ska-punk tunes like “Spill Your Guts” are thrown in for long time fans).

The Flatliners close the compilation with in a manner not unlike that of seminal punk rock cover band Me First And The Gimme Gimmes.  If you’re looking for an attitude infused take onThe Tragically Hip’s “Ahead by a Century”, then The Flatliners’ amped up tempo is about as  good as you’ll get.  Meanwhile, the honkey tonk’n trot of the Johnny Cash classic “Cry Cry Cry” represents a direction that The Flatliners have yet to more fully explore (think Get Dead).  “Southwards” is a fitting cover of stylistic contemporaries Astpai followed by a fairly spot on cover Rocket From The Crypt’s “Straight American Slave.”  While covers aren’t always a selling point, this concise collection affords further insight into possible directions for future pursuit.

 If you haven’t paid much attention to The Flatliners’ impressive lineage of Eps and singles, then Division Of Spoils will be a pleasing surprise (even if you have, the unreleased tracks are well worth cherry picking).  Even as an amalgamation of odds and ends, sequencing feels natural, even if stylistically less cohesive.  But don’t let the fear that the disc’s status as a rarities collection makes it any less worth spinning than The Flatliners’ more intentional work.  Division Of Spoils is a fine standalone product that should more than tide fans over until their The Flatliners’ inevitable next evolution.