Don’t Be Scared

It’s Only a Fearless Records Sampler (Fearless)
by Scott Hefflon

Bit of the old, bit of the new. Some old-style poppunk, a bit of the new-style emopunk, a touch of shouting hardcore punk, and, um, At The Drive-In. That’s right, let’s not forget that Fearless found At The Drive-In. If they ever bothered to include bios with their CDs, they’d be wise to remind us with each and every release “Hey, we struck paydirt with ATDI, so maybe this new release will be the next Next Big Thing, so listen to it, huh?” That’s a snide way of saying Bigwig and 30footfall were kinda cool (oh, they have new records coming out?), and Dynamite Boy and Lonely Kings are both cute poppunk that would’ve been ok a few years back (and Junction 18 is a step behind that, and Glasseater does that emo yell thing I barely like when done well, which this isn’t), but like all the bands on the now-defunct (get it yet?) Onefoot Records, all these guys are openers for decent bands whose shows I’d still most likely miss live. And The Aquabats? The demise of skapunk almost made me believe God might just love us, but the sadistic old fuck let that torture continue for too long “for our own good,” and really, what’d he replace it with, emo? Yeah, thanks a fuckin’ lot, God… Oh, and just to end on a nice note, 30footfall sounds more and more like Guttermouth every day (fast’n’furious, snarling and sarcastic – “punk,” in a word), and that’s a good thing. Praise the best and fuck the rest.
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