V/A – How Soon is Now? / 2004 Ryko / 12 Tracks / http://www.sorepointrecords.com / http://www.rykodisc.com / Reviewed 25 January 2005
To be honest, I didn’t like the Smiths at all, and the song “Girlfriend in a Coma” was probably the worst song to come out of the eighties. Still though, I was conned into liking a Smiths song – How Soon is Now, coincidentally the title of this compilation – when someone I liked at college requested me to play it during my radio show. However, this compilation updates the original sound of The Smiths with twelve different bands of differing levels of popularity. Everyone remembers that the Snake River Conspiracy did a cover of the title track to some minor success a few years back (even forgetting that the Smiths originally did the song), except for Hundred Reasons. There is little difference between all three versions of the track, where there was room for tremendous change throughout the song. The other tracks on this disc really don’t have any importance to me besides as pseudo-originals by the bands who are covering them. Every one of the first three bands on How Soon is Now seem to just be on autopilot, though – Million Dead, Hundred Reasons, and Cursive have all tuned up their faux-British accents and create the same type of bland rock that The Smiths were known.
Finally coming through with something outside of the norm, the fairly mediocre (usually) Garrison make a bouncy pop-rock track that is infused at all points with a synthesizer. Finally breaking out of the anemic rock that held the rest of the disc back, Yourcodenameis : Milo’s rock meets power-pop version of “Death of a Disco Dancer” infuses the disc with much-needed rock. Reminiscent of when The Cure actually remembers to take their Prozac, Walter Walter creates a radio-friendly dollop of emotive, guitar-lead rock in “Ask”. Finally falling back into the Morrissey-esque rut of overly-whiny and wimpy rock, My Awesome Compilation’s tries their hardest to create an updated “There Is A Light That Never Goes Out”, but does not have the spontaneity to succeed.
The real problem that Ryko has with this compilation is the choosing of bands that are too influenced by The Smiths. This creates a desire in each band member to not modify tracks from who they consider to be gods of the music industry, and as such, the average listener of “How Soon is Now?” is just listening to what amounts to be a second-rate cover band. Buy the original albums.
Top Track: Yourcodenameis : Milo “Death of a Disco Dancer”
Rating: 2.9/10