Fastmusic released the stellar “Disarming Violence” compilation in latter half of 2000, putting forth one of the most well put-together discs out in all of of the “Kingdome Compilation.” Unfortunately, even with it’s amazing line-up, it could not stop the label from short term doom. However, it’s now 2002, and Fastmusic has rebounded, regrouped, and reformulated with a new outlook on a continuing dream. In beginning the label’s presence all over again (they did put out that amazing AUTOPILOT OFF debut a few years back), “Fastmusic Bombs,” is a low priced disc that shows off rockin’ material from 26 bands, cramming this thing full of a variety of sounds and flavors. And with the exception of this disc falling prey to the “not as good as the first few songs” syndrome, “Fastmusic Bombs,” is an all-around strong compilation, and quite a bargain at only five bucks. A gritter punk band I’ve never heard of called SLAB starts this off, and much of the material to follow is in a similar stride. It’s the second track that’s the key selling point here though: “Teenage Electric,” a new demo tune by the legendary CIRCLE JERKS. Seems like nothing has changed with those guys. Some bands that made me smile included DOWN BY LAW, SEWING WITH NANCIE, THE GAMITS, TRAVOLTAS, SLOPPY MEATEATERS (new unreleased song! sooo good), AUTOPILOT OFF, TWO MAN ADVANTAGE (these guys are terribly underrated), NUCLEAR SATURDAY (one of the best on the cd), THE FAIRLANES, RUFIO (very fast stuff), THE FONZARELLIS, and the very dopey, THE LINE. A lot of this stuff will depend on taste, as with most comps, and there’s clearly a lack of hardcore on here, but the level of consistency is pretty high, and yes, certainly worth the few bucks if it helps you get into a few new bands.

Fastmusic

www.fastmusic.com