Atticus: Dragging the Lake II

by

Various Artists

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I liked the first Atticus compilation, with its great songs by Finch, Alkaline Trio, BossTones, the Movielife, Glassjaw, Madcap, and others, so I had my friend burn me a copy of Atticus 2. With the quality of the first and a seemingly solid lineup of bands i knew, I assumed it would be good.

Wow, was I disappointed.

The lineup didn't deliver. The Finch song was chaotic (in a bad way), the H2O song sounded nothing like the NYHC band that used to be "Faster Than the World," the Suicide Machines have lost the ska-core edge that made them amazing, Dropkick Murphys just sound bad, Alkaline Trio sounds pretty bad live, and even the oft-great Lagwagon has sounded better. All this plus a little too much emo (Further Seems Forever, Matchbook Romance, etc.) that's OK if you're into that (which I'm not).

The CD is saved by outstanding tracks from Rocket From the Crypt, Thrice, Transplants, and the Mighty Mighty BossTones (my all-time favorite band-- so maybe I'm a little biased). Jets to Brazil, Rise Against, Taking Back Sunday and Slick Shoes are other good bands with solid contributions. I was pleasantly surprised by the Blink182 track, which was decent coming from a band who often annoys the [heck] out of me. Lastly, Down by Law (a band I know little about) is very good, sounding much like FTTW-era H2O.

I recommend this comp basically because it's cheap and some of the songs are worth it. If possible, have a friend burn it for you.