Various Artists – Take Action! Volume 4

Sub City Records is very well known for their charity work; over the years they have raised thousands of dollars to help charities and make people more aware of the problems of the world. During the past four years, Sub City have been helping the National Hopeline Network, a suicide prevention and crisis hotline, through the releases of their Take Action! compilations and their Take Action! Tours. On October 5th, the label is ready to release their newest compilation, Take Action! Volume 4 upon the world. And with this 41-track double-disc CD, you can be sure that more people will become aware of the hotline.

Disc one starts off with a public service announcement from Andrew W.K. telling people to not give up hope and that there are people out there to help them; then the disc jumps right into NOFX‘s Concerns Of A Gop Neo-Phyte (Wrong Version), but if you’re expecting to hear bands like NOFX for most of this album, you’re way off. Both discs one and two feature a wide range of styles, from soft emo, pop-punk, punk, sreamo, and more; but each disc does lean more towards one specific genre. Disc one, for example, has more hard-core bands like Underoath, Terror, Hawthorne Heights, Boys Night Out, The Dillinger Escape Place, and Fear Before The March Of Flames; so the disc does have a much harder feel to it. But at the same time, that same disc is littered with songs by bands like Go Betty Go, The Briggs, A Wilhelm Scream, NOFX, The Break, The Kicks, and even Against Me!. So even if the first disc is mostly hard-core songs, there are enough variety in it to help it from becoming stale and repetitive.

The same thing happens with disc two, except this one is more of a mellow emo sound with bands like Coheed And Cambria, Communique, Brazil, Mae, The Early November, Melee, Pedro The Lion, Ted Leo/ The Pharmacists, and Roses Are Red. So, as you can see, there is a very vivid and extensive difference from disc one to disc two; but that makes for a better compilation. It doesn’t stick solely to one genre, so a fan of mostly hard-core bands might pick it up, listen to the second disc and learn about some softer bands that they may like.

Take Action! Volume 4 does have some very talented bands on it, and a lot that aren’t incredibly well known yet. So pick it up, learn some new bands, and help a good cause.