 Various Artists
Grass Is Always Greener (On The Other Side) (released 2007)
Get Hip Recordings - www.gethip.com
The latest sampler from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania based indie rock/garage/punk label Get Hip is friggin' incredible! Covering the entire Get Hip catalog this twenty-one track compilatioin includes some of the best indie rock I have heard in a very long time. and to boot, some of it is twenty years old! Incredible! So amazing that Get Hip is located about an hour and a half from Hussieskunk and that they've been in business for over twenty years now, and I've only recently come across some of their releases. Am I shortsighted or perhaps just blind to what was going on in the next state over? Or could it be that the distribution that Get Hip had back then just didn't reach into my neighborhood record store? Not sure, but I'm saddened that I have missed out on so much that the label has set loose upon the masses of the western Pennsylvainia area. Get Hip does manage to have releases, some of the tracks featured here are from these releases, that are from bands that are just around my local area like Cleveland's Rainy Day Saints (I've heard this group before, but didn't know they were affiliated with Get Hip), Detroit's The Paybacks and Chicago' The Last Vegas. And then there are others, like Autin, Texas' The Ugly Beats and Australia's The Stems. So how could Get Hip have missed my little hamlet of Columbus, Ohio when they can manage to release material from bands located all the way around me and then, as far away as Australia? I dunno...I'm not bitter. I'm just glad I now have the opportunity to hear what the label and bands have been doing for the past twenty plus years. And what they've been doing is great! The Cynics' "Turn Me Loose" is a fuzzed out rock n roll explosion from their latest album "Living Is The Best Revenge". Another great track, probably because of the chorus alone, is The Last vgas' "Seal The Deal", more than metal or rock, but less than punk, but all loud and obnoxiously catchy. I like the bare bones surfy sounding The Ugly Beats "I'm The One"...it's so simple and straight forward, you can deny it's toe tapping and sing along nature. The Bamboo Kids play an upbeat indie punk, or maybe garage rock sound on "She Got Off". You want 60s pop style throwback? Stop by for a dose of pop rock from Freddy & The Four-Gone Conclusion's "Today". All in all, this compilation is incredible, Get Hip has got quite the ear for catchy or inventive or just down right good rock music from any of several genres and eras. Fans of rock n roll take note, you should be able to find at least one band on the Get Hip label to satisfy your needs. I for one am a fan of all of them, and look forward to starting my collection of all twenty years worth of Get Hip Recordings. -MG |
