Archive Review: "Dirtnap Across the Northwest" (2003)

Compilation discs are the best way for the budget-minded (read: broke) punk rawk consumer to familiarize themselves with a wide range of available muzak. Take, fer instance, Dirtnap Across the Northwest, an ultra-fine collection of tunes from a variety of rock ‘n’ roll types offered by Seattle’s Dirtnap Records at a reasonable (i.e. $10) price. This monster comp serves up a whopping 31 tasty tracks, each one previously unreleased and many actually worth your valuable time. As usual, some comp performances rise above the others, and it’s no different here. Among my personal faves are the Epoxies, whose “Join the Professionals” shows all the guts and fire of the Avengers a quarter of a century after the fact. The Stuck Ups’ “Missing You” is all unrelenting white noise/white heat while the Cripples sound like new wave techno-punx with their squealing synths and snotty vox.

I swear that Midnight Thunder Express are the New York Dolls reincarnated sans J. Thunders and with a lippier frontman than Buster. The Triggers also dance on the Avengers tip with “Song By Heart” and the Flip Tops deliver old-fashioned crash and bang punk rawk with unintelligible vocals and monster riffs. The Hollow Points rock like Stiff Little Fingers circa ’77, cranking out a nifty little anti-war ditty with balls. Lopez cuts a rug with “Cretin,” sounding like a higher-voltage, hardcore version of AC/DC with choogling guitars that will please punks and metalheads alike. The High Beams, the Cinch, the Spits – there’s something for every taste on Dirtnap Across The Northwest and not a single pop/punk poseur in sight. Dirtnap Records has become the Reverend’s new favorite indie label and it should be yours, too! (Dirtnap Records)

Review originally published by Jersey Beat music zine, 2003