Various Artists – The Fest 8

Despite having existed for under a decade, Florida’s annual punk event, The Fest, has quick become somewhat of an underground institution.  The three day festival, organized By No Idea Records, brings together some of the most promising underexposed talents in the scene, and places them in front of an adoring audience that worships them like basement royalty.  One of the event’s biggest perks to the event is its continually evolving roster, and the annual compilation CD that showcases each year’s offering.  It’s the type of compilation that can humble even the most confident scene goer, always featuring the best work from a score of complete unknowns, and providing a veritable laundry list of bands to watch out for.

2009 celebrated The Fest 8, and expectedly the roster came packed with well-received favourites and newcomers alike.  The biggest names making it to the compilation were as always, those No Idea Records acts lovingly hand picked from the distributor’s impressive roster, and celebrated as modern classics by those living for dimly lit bearded basement keggers (much like the album art makes clear).  Unlike more broadly accessible festivals like The Vans Warped Tour, The Fest is a big party for a narrow niche.  You won’t find the glossy stylings of Fearless or Hopeless Records bands here, instead notables comes in the form of bare-bones pop punkers The Dopamines, Hot Water Music spin off Chris Wollard & The Ship Of Thieves, frenetic Municipal Waste thrash punk tangent No Friends, the gravelly howling of Whisky & Co., and even the sloppy folk punk of Defiance, Ohio.

But if the festival itself is a reason to check out fierce favourites, the CD’s real application is for listeners to find their new favourite band.  In my case, I went into the affair looking for some quality gruff punk, to which end I came out very pleased.  Before long I was introduced to the hoarse, raspy cries of The Grabass Charlestons, with a few tracks later the deep, scratchy greeting of Gatorface’s catchy bellow.  And that’s not even mentioning other solid offerings by the likes of Fiya, The Tim Version, Assholeparade, and the curiously titled Underground Railroad To Candyland.

But if gruff, mid-grade punk isn’t your thing, then no sweat, with thirty-three tracks to choose from, the disc also hosts a wealth of other appealing subgenres.  After twenty tracks the disc starts introducing the shrill, boarderline poppy, thrashy stylings of Psyched To Die, the battered cry of post-hardcore punkersIron Lung, and even the somewhat nasally, Riverboat Gamblers-like hooks of Ringers.

With almost eighty minutes of favourites old and new, The Fest 8 is a compilation that intimidates and excites.  Some of these bands have yet to debut outside of splits and debuts, while others serve as reminders of the underground’s vibrant and continually emerging colours.  It’s the type of album you listen to with pen poised, ready to jot down the names of everything and anything that catches your ear.

As someone living on the west coast, I doubt I’ll ever find the time to head down to The Fest.  But as long as they keep annual compilations like this coming, it should make that reality livable.