You know you’ve ‘made’ it when record labels start to want to release odds and sods albums. The fact that ‘To Live In Discontent’ is just as good as any other SA record is testament to how fantatsic this band really is. This record spans 13-tracks written between 1999 and 2004, taking in three covers and tracks from out of print records and songs that didn’t quite make the cut of the other albums. Not that you could tell mind – there’s hardly a lack of quality on show here, the songs just continue to prove how good a band Strike Anywhere actually is.
‘Asleep’ and ‘Antidote’, which originally feature on a Fat Wreck Chords released 7″ back in 2000, yet are real call-to-arms anthems. There’s a ferocious energy throughout this record, as there is on other SA albums, in particular ‘Two Fuses’, a track which narrowly missed out on appearing on ‘Exit English’. The choice of covers are interesting too – the Dag Nasty song possibly comes off best, with Cocksparrer and Gorilla Biscuits songs also covered. The album flows well throughout and, unlike many records which are thrown together from different eras, it doesn’t lose any synchronisation or suffer from the difference in recording or production.
‘To Live In Discontent’ continues to show that Strike Anywhere are a criminally underated band. I haven’t been into them for long, but this is yet another release that suggests many more people should check them out. The songs from the ‘Chorus Of One’ EP may be more raw, maybe even more emotional (to use a cliche), but are every bit as good as the band that recorded ‘Exit English’. Check this record out, it’s maybe not the best starting point, but it should be in your collection regardless.
www.strikeanywhere.org
Jade Tree
Paul