Various Artists: Red Scare Industries: Ten Years Of Your Dumb Bullshit

Ladies and gentlemen, the label compilation of the year has arrived!  While that title might not hold that much stock in this digital world of free label samplers featuring tunes from existing releases, the good folks at Red Scare Industries are bucking trends and kicking it old school with seventeen brand spanking new tracks spanning the prolific label’s ten year history.  That’s right, Red Scare Industries: Ten Years Of Your Dumb Bullshit features all new tracks from some of the best punk acts of the past decade.  At the risk of sounding like an infomercial, the disc includes never before heard songs from Masked Intruder, Direct Hit, The Sidekicks, Teenage Bottlerocket, and many many more!

Better still, those of us assuming that we would never hear another song from some of Red Scare’s legacy acts, think again.  The compilation features new songs from The Lillingtons, The Methadones, Enemy You, the recently revived Brendan Kelly side project The Falcon, and the now defunct Cobra Skulls.  While my fanboy-esque gushing might be suspect to clouding my judgement, my enthusiasm is absolutely rooted in how much I rocked out to every one of these tunes.  While in some cases they some tracks may have been omitted from the original release to help develop the flow of the disc, they absolutely shine in isolation – these aren’t leftovers, they’re the main course.

For that matter, for a disc made up of so many bits and bobs, the final product really fits together well.  Red Scare has always centred around a diverse yet tight knit roster balancing traditional three-chord pop-punk against those with more frayed edges, in effect feeling like the cooler cousin of Fat Wreck Chords.  One moment you’re listening to the the drunken swagger of Nothington and the next you’re dotting along jovially to The Copyrights.  The same can be said about the brilliance of placing Elway alongside The Brokedowns or The Druglords Of The Avenues with The Sidekicks. Each subsequent track keeps the party alive with the audio equivalent to a fully stocked cooler.  

The takeaway message?  Signing on with Red Scare Industries must be pretty darn awesome (and I thought head label dude Toby Jeg’s press releases were rad).  There are a few notable artists omitted from the party this time around (The Menzingers and Sundowner), but they’re hardly missed with such a generous roster in their stead.  It’s been a long time since anyone has released a compilation worthy of comparing to the glory days of Punk-O-Rama or Fat Music For Fat People, but Red Scare has done just that.  All in all, Red Scare Industries: Ten Years Of Your Dumb Bullshit is a fulfilling compilation of new songs from old friends.