The First Crush Compilation – Review

The First Crush Compilation

(Thick as Thieves)
by Tim Den

This is a reissue of the highly-influential comp that originally came out in ’97. With impossible-to-find tracks (that are actually not very good) by Jimmy Eat World, Mineral, At The Drive-In, Pop Unknown, and many more, The First Crush Compilation documented the late-’90s emerging wave of emocore bands, and in doing so, became a bible of sorts for the genre’s fans (along with The Emo Diaries series). Listening to these songs now brings back pleasant memories of a small but tightly-knit community, excited to be discovering a new subgenre together… but I must admit, some of this stuff’s just awful in hindsight, whether it represents a time period or not. Still Life are a jumbled mess, Yellow Road Priest sound like the last place losers in the high school Battle of the Bands recording themselves on a boombox, Sore Loser‘s drummer is about as tight as Anna Nicole Smith’s abs, and not one vocalist out of the 22 here ever hits a right note.

So was this worth reissueing? Sure, if you were originally along for the ride and are now looking for some audio souvenirs. But if you’re new to the world of emocore, this just might make you wanna turn around and head home. More: Jessica Six, Emory Swank, The Tie That Binds, I Hate Myself, Thoughts Of Ionesco, Eversor, Stalag Seventeen, The Jazz June, Indiana, No Reply, One Car Pile Up, Driver Eleven, Airport Architect, Beast, and a prank call by Will And Johnny.
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