V/A – Mohawks and Whiskey Shots / 2004 Hussieskunk / 27 Tracks / http://www.hussieskunk.com / Reviewed 03 October 2004
Another smorgasbord of punk-styled music, Columbus’ punk internet radio station puts this album together with the most solid bands that Matt can find. This time, the disc starts out with “Life Revolution”, a ska-punk song done in the mid-to-late nineties Mighty Mighty Bosstones style. The mastering quality of tracks on Mohawks and Whiskey Shots are incredibly tracks – I could conceivably expect Hopelessly Devoted To You to sound this well, and those bands have multiple times the amount of money of the average band on Mohawks. Revenge City’s “A Pistol, A Rifle and a Shotgun” is a balls-forward hard-edged punk track that sounds like a mixture of The Starting Line, Rise Against, and Ten Foot Pole. The first weak track on the disc comes during “Money N Fame” by Dogshit Sandwich, a track that contains the most compelling guitar lines but a shouted-out, scratchy set of vocals that just don’t mesh as well with the track as they could. Great Big Sea and Flogging Molly inspire the Greenland Whalefishers, and in a 180, an electronic-pop-punk band (on Drive Thru, even) rocks out hardest even with a member that looks like Carrot Top.
Continue the pop-punk assault with Brodii Split, “Kimapearl” is reminiscent of some of the best Cali-punk bands of the mid-nineties, including JFT and Unwritten Law. The double-harmonies of the band make this section of the disc instantly the most catchy. The brash, harshly-recorded “Raise Your Glass” uses a breakneck-paced set of guitars and a spat out set of vocals by Terry, as well as contributing harmonies by the rest of the bands. Even if their lyrics are beyond embarrassing, the tight ska of J.A.W. will win listeners over, the horns and bass of the bands getting ever more intricate as the track spins on. Minor Disturbance looks far back to the earliest day of punks, mixing the fast-punk of the Circle Jerks with the chaos of a Husker Du or early Violent Femmes. Continuing the retrospective section comes Bottlefight, using gritty and sloppy guitars alongside an Iggy Pop-styled set of vocals in a song that will definitely find its way into the minds of listeners.
Columbus’ own Rise and Shine come on in the late stages of the disc with a forceful yet emotive track in “Breaker Breaker”, which benefits from varied sections and wonderful arrangement. The pop-punk side of things is just strengthened further by The Brainless Wonders, using a repetitive chorus and Ramones-influenced three-chord attack. With the first true-hardcore sound (even though they call themselves gutter-punk), Drink Fight Things blast out their insanely paced “ I Wanna Murder” without giving half a shit about anyone who may be listening. Hussieskunk has put out another solid compilation, and a disc that can mix punk, ska, indie, emo, and rap(?!?) can’t be bad.
Top Tracks: Drink Fight Thugs – I Wanna Murder, Liberty – Raise Your Glass, Sweet Pickle – And Now It Begins”
Rating: 8.6/10