Various

Ten songs from four bands appear on this compilation, with each possessing a highly different sound and vibe. Monsieur Leroc is a funky, jazzy band that indulges in a fat helping of guitar licks laid over solid rhythm riffs and stays on course for the duration of whatever trip you might find yourself on listening to it. A good sultry night-club band that at times sounds like Us3 with a hint of Herbalizer - the three songs on the comp are from their Le Slow Motion Boogie Woogie album, out now. Half Pint is a decent dub group that carries off the rasta groove in a particularly appealing way, with vocals that aren't lost behind the many studio effects and heavy bass lines. "Loving," "Hold On Dub" and "Tell Me" are pulled from their Recollection release, available now. And fresh off the Pop Cult Vomit album, Secret Hate is - no big surprise here - a serious hardcore/punk band that bursts through the last third of the comp sounding like the sons of Soundgarden, with "Radio Kills," "Love Enough 4/2" and "Sunshower." And finally, the only contribution from the Applicators is "U Got It All," an all-woman, punk-ass demo for their up-coming CD, out "sometime this winter." The only problem I have with this entirely satisfying and diverse sampler is the lack of liner notes - who are these bands? Where do they come from? How do I get to know more? Because it is most definitely worth knowing.