V/A – Take Action, Volume 4

V/A – Take Action, Volume 4 / 2004 Sub City / 41 Tracks / http://www.subcity.net / Reviewed 30 January 2005

The Take Action albums are always good for having a variety of bands on their discs, and this forth volume is no different. Starting with the Rancid meets Taking Back Sunday sound of Squad Five-O and the timeless quality of noFX, the overall sound of this volume seems to be a little heavier in scope than the previous volumes. Take for example the track by The Break (The Wolves Are At The Front Door) which is extra-ordinarily influenced by Pretty Hate Machine-era Nine Inch Nails – The Break is more pop-punk than their track on Take Action would have one think. By far, the biggest surprise of the beginning of Volume 4 is the electrically-charged track by The Kicks, a band before which I had no clue. The one problem I had with this album is not the style of the bands, but the fact that only five of the bands were able to get new tracks to Sub City. I can understand if this was just a compilation for normal release, but I would think that since this is for SUCH a good cause that bands could knock out a track for Sub City. Some of the tracks really disrupt any flow that the disc may have created. For example, the Murder By Death track is so sedate and contemplative that it doesn’t have any analogue – in fact, it is antithetical to the Against Me and Boys Night Out tracks that immediately precede and follow it.

Just as with the beginning of the first disc, the ending of the same disc is much more harder-edged than the doughy, emo and hardcore-laden center. The effect is actually pretty nice as Nex Mexican Disaster Squad, A Wilhelm Scream, The Briggs and Go Betty Go set the stage for the second disc, which can officially be deemed the “lighter” disc of the two. On this second disc, Pedro the Lion, Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, Hidden in Plain View, Mae, Now It’s Overheard, and Communique render the tracks as beautifully as the bands on the first disc rendered them – this is not a CD of b-listers. In fact, the beginning few tracks of the second disc may just be the most solid found on either disc, with tracks coming from Coheed and Cambria, Taking BVack Sunday, Rufio, and Brandtson closing ranks. Overall, this is one of the best compilations out for sale, and 5% of the proceeds o to the National Hopeline Network.

Top Tracks: Taking Back Sunday; Bonus Mosh Pt. II, Against Me!; You Look Like I Need A Drink

Rating: 7.4/10