Various Artists "Another Year on the Streets Vol. 3" (Vagrant Records) Sounds like: suburbia teen angst from Dashboard Confessional and his Vagrant flunkies C
Vagrant recently released "Another Year on the Streets Vol. 3" and it's chock full of middle-class teen angst. The compilation features new and unreleased songs by the likes of experienced musicians Dashboard Confessional, Saves the Day, Paul Westerberg and the Get Up Kids as well as several relative newcomers to the emo-punk genre.
However, despite the fact that 15 different artists' songs made the cut, there are only a handful that separate themselves from mundane and overused pop-emo gimmicks.
The album starts strong with newcomer Down to Earth Approach's "Exhibit of the Year." The song, which features consistently staccato guitars, is by no means a great song, but it's fun and shows that the young band has potential.
After a more punky but equally catchy song by Hot Rod Circuit, Dashboard Confessional changes the mood completely with the acoustic "Warmth of the Sand." For anyone who finds Carraba painful to listen to, be warned that this song drags on for more than four minutes. Alkaline Trio follows with a decent, but not exceptional cover of the Psychedelic Furs' "Heaven." At least it revs the album back into motion.
Moneen's track, "Pleasantly Saying the Most Terrible Things" is a mixed bag. It's average death-wish emo until about two minutes in when the band unexpectedly breaks into a hauntingly beautiful ambient arrangement. Why couldn't the whole song be like that?
Saves the Day has a song on this album from their very early days, and it's interesting to see where they started after all the musical changes the band has gone through. "When It Isn't Like It Should Be" is old but when 16-year-old Chris Conley cries out "I just want to be like everyone else. Why can't I be everything to everyone else?" his emotion somehow seems more genuine than most.
Following From Autumn to Ashes' extremely skip-worthy live cover of Nirvana's "Territorial Pissings," Seconds to Go creates an exciting ambience reminiscent of the best songs from Further Seems Forever's "How to Start A Fire." "Streets" then hits its listeners with three average songs from No Motiv, Hey Mercedes and Audio Learning Center. It's like a breath of fresh air when the New Amsterdams (aka Get Up Kid Matthew Pryor's side project) come on with their simple, upbeat and acoustic "From California." Sure parts of it sound vaguely like Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," but that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Paul Westerberg's "As Far As I Know" is equally refreshing. Recorded in his basement, the song foregoes mass production, relying instead on clever lyrics and catchy hooks. The Get Up Kids keep the quality streak alive with the hypnotic "Like A Man Possessed." The song has a great arrangement featuring piano and even strings. Rocket From The Crypt caps the compilation off with the energetic "Flight of the Hobo." As the name of both the song and the band may suggest, this more punk than emo track really moves along and ends the CD on a high.
Fans of the emo-punk genre probably won't go wrong picking this one up. Sure "Another Year on the Streets" has its stinkers, but then it's also $5 and comes with a bonus DVD of music videos.
