Cause For Alarm
Nothing Ever Dies 1982-99
Victory
A hardcore band with a bunch of 18- and 19-year-olds in it is no big deal. But a hardcore band that’s 18 or 19 years old? Love ‘em or hate ‘em, somebody who keeps keeping on for that long (and particularly in a genre like hardcore, where it’s not conceivably feasible to ever actually make a living without having strangers feed you and let you sleep on their floors) deserves mad props, as those wacky youths of more recent vintage might put it.
This is a bit of a mixed bag, containing some interesting and entertaining moments, but also some skip button specials. That’s almost to be expected with a 71-minute hardcore opus, though. In the latter category, track 20, a live ten-minute excerpt of a 1982 concert, is just so poorly recorded it could only be of interest to archivists, and should’ve been left off, no matter how many nice memories it might stir up for the band and it’s fans. “Reflection” also features an awful metal-wanky solo; as if to atone for it, instead check out the great rock and roll solo on “Summer on Avenue A,” a rousing singalong. Or their signature song. “United Races,” with a political stance that anyone worth existing would find it difficult to disagree with. Also a nice phase-flange intro on “Homeless” that reminded me, of all things, of the intro to “India” on the Psychedelic Furs’ first album.
Worth the admission price, with a little CD-programming to cut the drek.
