V/A – Blizzard Blue #1 / 2004 Yawn Records / 22 Tracks / http://www.yawnrecords.com / [email protected] / Reviewed 1 April 2004

On the first listen to this disc, what really shocked me was how similar all of the bands were on “Blizzard Blue #1”, even though they were collected from 8 different states. The first track that really stands out on this compilation is the looking-back early nineties alt-rock track “Stolen”, by Dropsonic. Straddling the line between seriousness and just goofing off, Johnny Reliable creates a soundtrack single for an eighties movie that was never made. Yawn Records has dedicated this compilation series to all the zinesters that have influenced eir in the time since ey started Yawn Records, and as such, shows that the one-way path of zines including CDs can be reversed. Sounding like a cleaned-up version of a Breaking World Records band, Mad Happy creates a hook-laden scratchfest in the rap track “Icicle Man”. “Icicle Man” is actually the hottest track on the CD, sounding more professional and cohesive than any other track on the compilation. Finally coming into some form of diversity half-way in the disc, the brash seventies punk sound of the Nowhere Squares’ “Parking Lot Wreck” is the diametric opposite to “Icicle Man”, in energy, in recording, and in general sound.

While most of “Blizzard Blue #1” is solid, perhaps a little on the forgettable side but still fun to listen to, there are some weak tracks that do detract from the entire disc. Supreme Dispassion has the honor of being the first weak track on the disc, with a Clutch/rap-metal track in “Fat Baptist”. Paradoxically, one of the best tracks immediately follows the atrocity that is “Fat Baptist”, in “HotrodboB’s “Ignition”, with guitars practically stolen from “Kicked Out of the Webelos”. Coming off with a sound that is similar to Metal Blade-era Goo Goo Dolls, the kids in TRB create a strongly written, road trip song in “Part 2”. The warbling guitar solo in “Part 2” along with the stair-step synthesizer create an amount of urgency that is only reached a few times on “Blizzard Blue #1”. The biggest conundrum on the disc would have to be Brave’s all genre spanning “I Believe”.

“I Believe” starts out like a mid-nineties electrified goth song, but rapidly switches in heavy metal guitars and an omni-present bass to make the track, and by extension the band one that tags simply do not fit on. Blizzard Blue #1 is a compilation that starts out slowly, but like the proverbial rolling stone, it gathers no moss after those first few tracks. The Pistol Arrows play a violin-infused brand of seventies rock that positions itself near The Polyphonic Spree in terms of sheer magnitude. Before picking up the compilation, I had no clue who any of these bands are, and after, there are a few that I wouldn’t mind checking out.

Top Tracks: HotrodboB – Ignition , Mad Happy – Icicle Man Rating: 7.1/10