Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 09/24/2002
New Blood: The New Rock and Roll, Vol. 2 collects more garagey rock with the seal of approval from
Artrocker, a London-based zine, label, and club night at the city's famed
Metro Bar. While the U.K. hasn't necessarily contributed many big bands of its own to the current
garage rock revival, it has been the most appreciative -- or, arguably, hype-driven -- scene for this music, helping to call global attention to bands like
the Strokes,
the White Stripes, and
the Hives.
New Blood features a good mix of songs from bands that have already broken through, such as
the (International) Noise Conspiracy's
"Dead Language of Love," the Hives'
"Statecontrol," the Mooney Suzuki's
"I'm Not Talking," and
the Yeah Yeah Yeahs'
"Miles Away" -- which also adds a refreshing dose of double-X chromosomes to the mix -- and tracks from up-and-coming bands, like
the Pattern's
"She's a Libra" and
the Beatings'
"Bad Feeling." Since most of the groups here stick to the tried-and-true
garage rock approach of a few fuzzy chords, loud drums, and lots of attitude, quite a few of the tracks on the collection blend together; but the unique songs stand out even more, whether it's the
cock rock-
garage hybrid of
the Datsuns'
"M. F. From Hell";
Los Nachos' slow-burning
"Gotta Make a Change";
the Von Bondies'
blues-tinged
"Cryin'"; or
Ten Benson's
"Come Home to Me," which sports some freaky double-tracked vocals. This band, along with
Beach Buggy,
McLusky, and
the Parkinsons, also reveals that the U.K.'s own
garage rock scene is thriving, albeit with less fanfare than that of Detroit, New York, or Sweden's.
Love as Laughter's
"Temptation Island," the Flaming Sideburns'
"Street Survivor," the Hotwires'
"Furious Desires," and
the Catheters'
"Disguise Myself" are among the collection's other highlights.
New Blood also comes with hefty liner notes outlining how
Artrocker began; essays on the history of
garage and
punk rock, image versus music, and other related topics; as well as mini-bios on each of the bands on the compilation. Though it may not be the final word on the
garage rock revival scene,
New Blood: The New Rock and Roll, Vol. 2 is a good primer on its well-known and relatively obscure bands.
~Heather Phares, All Music Guide
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