Much like the Plea for Peace compilation, Deep Elm Records has identified a problem that seriously affects America and wishes to do something about it. A few months back, Deep Elm raised money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention with a month long tour, joining together some of the larger bands from the Deep Elm roster. Too Young to Die is a sampling of pretty much every act to be on Deep Elm, even those who may not be on the roster currently or are defunct. Drawing from previous releases on the Deep Elm label, Too Young To Die takes songs with a hopefully message and tries to weave together a cohesive disc to boot. The cohesiveness of this disc is surprising even to me, as the twenty bands on this disc come from very different backgrounds and have very different sounds. The first track that definitely assaults my senses and makes me begin to devote my undivided attention to the disc would have to be Red Animal War�s �Right Now, Today, I Don�t Believe in Hell�. Red Animal War�s track begins much like the Benton Falls track before it, but incorporates very chunky bass and odd tempo shifts to make the song memorable.

Some songs approach the situation of suicide oblique; some actually take an active role in trying to prevent it. One of the tracks that go about the latter role would be Brandtson�s �On Three�, with lyrics like �don�t give in to all those voices that are telling you about past failures, killing you before you�ve had your chance to live�. The collection of the bands on the disc, while still put together for a completely charitable reason, do provide the new listener to the sheer talent of the bands on Deep Elm. For example,�Fishing the Sky� by The Appleseed Cast is a flawless song, mixing together the traditional elements of post-hardcore music will differing time structures and borderline-Travis Barker style drumming. Lo-fi in style, with vocals not unlike Momus� �As I Turn to Go�, Surrounded makes do with a drummer, a violin, a harmonica, and an acoustic to make the poor man�s philharmonic.

Other noteworthy tracks include Brandtson�s �Anything and Everything�, which includes a more poppy sound than is currently expected from this Cleveland-land bands and the uptempo pseudo-punk stylings of Slowride during �Sorry For July�, with its� nearly Mighty Mighty Bosstones-like structure. The whole idea of doing a CD whose profits will go to a good cause, like trying to promote peace or stop suicides is one that fills me with hope for the future, as does the sheer amount of talent that is on Deep Elm�s roster.

Rating : 7.4/10