Millencolin

The Melancholy Collection (Epitaph)
by Scott Hefflon

22 songs in 50 minutes – as the title hints at – collected from the first two EPs and various b-sides and comps. Millencolin has certainly come a long way over the years. Starting out as a young Swedish version of SoCal punkpop (fast and melodic, with some ska thrown in amidst the NOFXian rampage), man, they really learned the craft of writing catchy melodies (as have NUFAN and Lagwagon and other bands who’ve pushed the punk envelope), and here’s a bunch of the early stuff so you don’t have to pay so goddamn much for the early material simply to have it and your friends won’t and you can invite girls over to ogle your collection (“oh, it’s so biiiig!”) and maybe you can score. Or whatever yer incentive is to get old material by bands who are a lot better now. Covers of Descendents’ “Coolidge,” Op Ivy’s “Knowledge,” Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” The Police’s “Every Breath You Take,” and a few others have all sounded better (and I have them all, including the original 9 to 5 soundtrack cuz, ya know, I am a music editor and have business cards to prove it), but here they are.
(2798 Sunset Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90026)