Too Young To Die
Various Artists
Deep Elm
As far as I’m concerned, Deep Elm moves from “funny little emo label with a few good releases,” to a “bona fide, honorable source of music” with Too Young To Die. This compilation disc, which features 20 tracks from their roster of artists, is a benefit CD to help fund suicide prevention programs. We all know how screwed up the world is, and suicide and depression are often overlooked as major causes for alarm; however, suicide is the third leading cause of death for people 15 to 24 years old. For a smaller label like Deep Elm to set out to fight against suicide is a truly commendable act.
The disc itself features some of the best artists ever to record for the label, from Pop Unknown to Planes Mistaken For Stars. Benton Falls seems to be the current darlings on their roster, and they’re here, as well, as are the critically acclaimed Appleseed Cast. Some of my personal favorites offering up tracks (most of the songs are already released, making the disc basically a sampler) are the powerful Red Animal War, Desert City Soundtrack, Cross My Heart, Camber, and The White Octave; all of their tracks are mind-blowing and fantastic. The best single band on the comp is probably The Appleseed Cast, and one of the two tracks they have here is “Fishing The Sky,” which is the opening song on their classic, Mare Vitalis.
What’s kind of cool about this sampler is that the liner booklet is dedicated to suicide and depression awareness; it includes long lists on “recognizing warning signs of suicide,” “how to intervene and get help,” some very sobering “facts about suicide,” and “facts about depression.” Figuring that the intended audience for Deep Elm bands is probably the teenagers of the world, these facts and tips would actually be quite helpful to someone with a friend acting suicidal. Again, this is a very awesome compilation, simply for its intended purpose, and I highly recommend buying it. It’s cheap, some of the money goes for a good cause, and the majority of the music on the disc is really solid melodic postpunk stuff, from some hardworking bands.
Deep Elm Records: http://www.deepelm.com/
