To Live in Discontent

It's rare to find punk music that is political, yet optimistic, while also being talented, innovative yet catchy, and just plain great!

So, while this is only a CD of b-sides and what not, I would have to say this CD is almost as good as most of their regular releases and better than a certain one (ahem... Exit English), for one reason and one reason only. Energy. Let's face it, Strike Anywhere is a band that consistantly brings insightful lyrics, melodies, catchy guitars, and the occasional bass-line, on every CD. What they DON'T bring on every CD, it seems, is energy, which is basically what makes or breaks every single CD by this band. This one has it, and boy will it take you for a ride. The guitars are fast, the drumming is ruthless, Thomas is screaming a lot more often than he is singing, and while he does sing, that raw sound of the hardcore battlecry is much more appreciated, at least by me, on a Strike Anywhere CD, so that's a plus. Some of these songs appear to be quite old, judging by the poor sound quality on a few of the songs towards the end of the CD, but it reminds me of the crappy sound quality that my band deals with when we record, so why not hear that from these guys too on songs like "Sunspotting" One other thing that brings this CD out is that they have a few songs that aren't all about the working class or the downtrodden and government's impact on the aformentioned working class and downtrodden. While that will never get old, change is always welcome, and it's was really cool, at least for me, to listen to "Two Sides" for the first time, which is definitely the best song on the CD, and think to myself, "Wow, this can relate to anyone, not just the antidisestablishmentarianists, for once I don't feel like Thomas is a million IQ points smarter than me, he is an actual guy."For Strike Anywhere fans, definitely have "Change is a Sound" and "Dead FM" before you pick this up, it's not a place to start like that one dude said, sorry to contradict you so. Once those are in your CD collection, it's between this and Exit English, and I'm leaning towards this 'cause let's face it, Exit English was kinda boring and monotone.

Not to be a bickering contrarian, but this isn't merely a collection of B-sides as stated by the 2 previous reviews! It's actually the bands demo, which was later released as their first ep, and some covers and compilation tracks. Now that we have gotten that out of the way...this is the beginning of an awesome melodic punk powerhouse. These recordings are way more impressive in my opinion than the debut lp "Change Is A Sound", which seemed a bit unfocused and a little stale. Exit English redeemed them in my book, but the original 5 song demo/ep is a crucial own for anyone slightly interested in this band! Recommended for fans of Dag Nasty, Gorilla Biscuits(there are covers of both bands on this release), Good Riddance, as well as newer bands Like Comeback Kid and From Ashes Rise. Awesome melodies, righteous politics, and a little fun thrown in the blender give you the perfect soundtrack for a Critical Mass ride, an anti-WTO protest, or just cleaning the house...Change is indeed a sound!

First off I am a little biased because i'm such a huge Strike Anywhere fan..I own Change Is A Sound which is an amazing album, and also am a huge fan of Exit English. I've seen this band live and have talked to the members- so overall, i just love this band, because they bring something new to a completely dead style -punk-. This CD is nowhere close to change is a sound or exit english, but i dont think it was meant to be...it's just a few b-sides, but they still rock. The stand out track is definatly "chorus of one", an excellent live song. So if you're going to get into strike anywhere, don't start here, go get yourself a copy of "change is a sound" or "exit english"- hope it helps.

What happened to good punk rock? I don't know, but here's a fresh song for your coffee grinder. Sounds like a mix of old Blink 182 and Op Ivy. Are you awake?

Overall, a decent collection of songs from an excellent band. While it's quite mediocre compared to "Change Is A Sound" and "Exit English," it still was very good. "Notes On Pulling The Sky Down" is absolutely superb.