After finding so much great music from Deep Elm's No.8 "Bonfire Of Trust" sampler, I was a little disappointed at first with this one, not only because the previews didn't excite me much, but also because after a little research I discovered that there isn't any current music here...many of the bands have left the label or aren't currently active, and the offerings from the groups Free Diamonds, Settlefish, and Small Arms Dealer aren't from their latest albums even though they're still with Deep Elm. The songs here are from 2005, 2006, or 2007 except for The Appleseed Cast's "Reaction", which is from 2001 (they are no longer with Deep Elm). Now, considering this is free, I stopped being picky for just enough time to realize that most of these songs aren't half bad, and some are just plain super.
To my surprise, even with the variety and different production teams, this sampler has a very good flow to it, mainly because the styles of most of the bands are similar. There's a lot more here than "screamo" punk however, which was a misguided first impression. Yes, there are many sections of songs with loose, ragged, slightly out-of-tune vocals, but the screaming is more on the "I'm passionate about my music" side than that of heavy metal's style of screaming (not that those bands aren't passionate about their music).
Some highlights: "The Greatest" starts off with a nice, ambient vibe, and the driving guitars and great drumming back up a trance-like melody based on a 3 note repeating section. "Paint Your Target" starts off with a clean guitar intro, then a huge scream, and the power, excellent musicianship and Alex Westaway's edgy but extremely melodic vocal lines make this my favorite overall song (even with a section of heavy screaming).
I mention the screaming so much because I've never been a big fan of any music that has it, but the songs here that have it actually have opened my mind a little more about the positive impact it can have on a rock song when tastefully done.
At first I thought "The World Is Going To Hell" was an instrumental, because it takes almost 2 minutes before vocals come in. But this song has it all...atmospheric guitar parts, power with a shouting single note vocal chorus, clean, melodic, softer breaks with the lyric "You're All Apart Of The Scenery To Me". Very nice.
The faster or more classic style punk songs include "Water Manes At The Block's End", and "Video Games...", by Latterman, "It Was Bliss" by Settlefish, and "Scumbagsville, CT" by Small Arms Dealer. "Morals And Dogma has some grunge characteristics to it, and "Anky Fremp" by Flanders is more straightforward rock (not like the Flanders of today, with its House/Electronica Dance style). A couple of tunes are more laid-back, like "Assisted Living", with its reserved vocals, strings, guitar picking and gymnasium drums, and the piano-based "Last Night's Floor". The bass guitar-driven "Blind Boys" is one song I felt didn't have the same vibe as the rest of these songs, and I'm not sure I like the vocals even though they are definitely unique. "Sunshine In A Shot Glass" has a southern Americana vibe and includes organ and steel guitar and a soaring chorus...definitely one of the highlights here. "Crush So Sweet" is a very good emo tune.
If you're a fan of alternative rock or punk rock, I wouldn't give up on this just by the previews. And it's a plus that you can download these songs individually rather than having to download it as an entire album...even though it's good enough that I recommend you do.
Get more detail about Deep Elm Records - Sampler No. 7 "Defending The Kingdom".
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