Ultra Swank

(Cacophone)
by Jon Sarre

“22 Bands!” “And Many More!” Oh yeah, the compilation, some label guy gets the bright idea to grab bag as many bands as possible who once allowed him to put out their one-off single and cram ’em all on a single CD so he can sell it for cheap. Hopefully, he makes a few bucks and delays getting the phone shut off and thus continues a few days more in the rat-eat-rat world of the indie record business. Rhyme and reason are blissfully shelved in favor of the “sampler” approach, which usually means, at least to yours truly, “you don’t honestly expect me to listen to every fucking song on this, do ya?” I mean, I’ll put the thing on while I do the dishes or drink coffee or type up a review of someone else’s compilation, but to sit and explain why Lonesome and the Dickheads rock and HalfRack and a Pack of Luckies don’t? Fuck that!

Cacophone Records, based outta Albany, NY, has assembled their Ultra Swank sampler in order to encourage you to buy some other things they put out, hopefully a buncha stuff and if trashy, degenabilly punk is something you like, maybe you will. Personally, I’d suggest you start with the Morning Shakes, kinda like Iggy fronting Guitar Wolf as they attempt Gene Vincent covers. Jack Black, these greaser-punkers who blew me away a long time ago at the Continental in NYC and the Johnny-Thunders-if-he-only-did-more-songs-like-“Pipeline” Turbo ACs are also good fuckin’ sources to funnel yer cash towards. 1313 Mockingbird Lane, the Speed Devils, the Erotics, and the Defectives also stand out in the Cacophone catalogue, at least the way I remember the quality time I spent listening to this disc.
(PO Box 6058 Albany, NY 12206; 6201 Sunset Blvd #211 Hollywood, CA 90028)