Album Review: Fat Music Vol. 8: Going Nowhere Fat
review by Denise Borders
If there’s ever been a label in my life that I’ve been able to depend on, it’s Fat Wreck Chords. I think I was about 15 when I bought my first Fat Music comp as I was leaving Warped Tour one summer. They were selling them two for $5 at the exit gate and I can’t remember which volumes they were, but I still have them in my car and listen to them every once in a while. I was pretty stoked to see they were releasing another one in cahoots with their 25th anniversary as a label.
Track List:
1: Banner Pilot – Modern Shakes
2: Masked Intruder – The Most Beautiful Girl
3: Lagwagon – The Cog in the Machine
4: Pears – Snowflake *
5: Mad Caddies – Shoot Out the Lights
6: Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – Straight Up
7: toyGuitar – When It Was Over
8: Get Dead – Welcome To Hell
9: CJ Ramone – One More Chance
10: Good Riddance – Running on Fumes
11: Night Birds – Left in the Middle *
12: Less Than Jake – Good Enough
13: Strung Out – Rats in the Walls
14: The Flatliners – Bury Me
15: Darius Koski – Fond Of, Lost To
16: Leftover Crack – The Lie of Luck *
17: Bad Cop/Bad Cop – Nightmare
18: Old Man Markley – Stupid Today
19: Morning Glory – Life’s a Long Revenge
20: NOFX – SF Clits (Demo Version) *
21: Snuff – In the Stocks
22: Swingin’ Utters – Taking on the Stale Green Light *
23: Western Addiction – Ex-Humans *
24: The Real McKenzies – Up on a Motorbike
25: Home Street Home – Monsters
*previously unreleased
This album is a little different to review than most because it’s not new music from a band, but instead, a compilation (obviously), with a few previously unreleased tracks. When the album starts, I know the track list says Banner Pilot, but holy shit, it has Alkaline Trio written all over it. However, Nick has a very distinct voice so once that chimes in, you’re all LIKE. Anyway, I really like Banner Pilot and I do like this song.
Another band I really like, Masked Intruder, comes next. I heard a lot of buzz about this band before ever listening to them and they sounded so different than I expected. I think they’re songs are either funny or sweet, but they’re always there to put you in a feel-good-and-shit kinda mood. This isn’t a new song or anything, but I think it was an excellent choice for the sampler because it’s a great representation of MI’s sound. Nothing creepy about a bunch of dudes in ski masks singing about a beautiful girl!
As the third track starts, I’m like ALL ABOARD THE LAGWAGON. One of my favorite Fat Wreck bands, no Fat comp would be complete without something from Lagwagon. Their latest album, Hang, is (in my opinion) one of their best albums to date. The Cog in the Machine is a great track from the record, and yet another great pick for the comp. And you know what? I think it’s dumb to review this comp song-by-song since it’s mostly all songs from other albums, so I’m going to fly off the handle here and just give a general idea of what I did and didn’t like about the record.
I am someone that has always LOVED compilations because it’s a great way to discover new bands or just to finally get to hear a band that you’ve maybe heard about over and over but never really had a chance to hear one of their songs. That’s how I was about Night Birds. I’ve heard their name and seen a lot posted about them online, but for one reason or another I haven’t really listened to (or paid attention?) their music. When their track came on, I was like “blehhhhh” (aka, not my thing). That’s okay! They have sort of a Dwarves vibe (whom I love) but I just can’t get into it.
I love that the comp mixes the old with the new, featuring newer-ish bands like Get Dead, Pears and toyGuitar. The only other newer band featured that I am on the fence about is Home Street Home. I thought maybe it was another Bad Cop Bad Cop song when it played, but alas, it was not. I plan to check HSH out to see what their sound is, because I feel like it could be a band that I could get into.
So, in the end, this is a pretty sick compilation. It’s a great mix of bands and sounds that will be a great album to throw on every once in a while. I mean, Lagwagon, NOFX, Me First, Morning Glory, etc… you just can’t go wrong. The moral of the story really, is that you can’t go wrong with Fat Wreck Chords. I hope this label never dies off. DON’T DIE, FAT WRECK. I LOVE YOU.
You can order the album now, and if you haven’t already, well by god DO IT.
About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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