VARIOUS ARTISTS
PURE PUNK! (Cyclone Records)
By: Alex Steininger
Straight from the blue collar punk label Cyclone Records comes PURE PUNK!, a twenty-one track (with seventeen bands) compilation of some of the hottest street punk/oi! bands out there. Some bands you'll find on this compilation are The Ducky Boys, The Boils, The Bruisers, The Cuffs, and Weekend Bowlers. Basically, as I said before, some of the hottest punk bands out there today.Shooting straight into a land of speed and power, The Boils kick off everything with "Moral Crusaders." Filled with aggression, spite, and a whole lotta beats you'll just want to slam and run along with, one song into you already know this compilation is going to feed your punk rock appetite.
Classic street punk/oi! via The Bruisers keeps the motions going, and your heart pounding. As the drums and bass punch and kick, the guitars scream through the song while the vocals shout all that needs to be said. If that wasn't enough, the song carries a melodic feeling (yet, this isn't pop-punk) that will have you hooked from the first time they dive into the chorus until the end.
Weekend Bowlers off up two tracks, "Break It Up" and "I Know Who My Friends Are," both of which are rough and loose, yet furious and full of action. The sound recordings may not be the best, and the band may leave holes in their performance and music, but what they lack there they make up for in intensity. Never doubt the power of a voice and the thunder of a band playing their hearts out.
As the compilation progresses through tracks by No Ones Victim, Infiltrators (two tracks), Bombshell rocks, The Outsiders, and Unsung Heroes, to name a few, you're served with more punk bite after bite.
Some of the bands are young and not at the top of their game, but all the bands play with heart and spirit, rather than money-filled dreams and off-the-mark ambitions. So, if you're into punk you should check them out and take a gander at the punk crop of the new millennium. I'll give this album a B-.
