Review: Various Artists- The Local Anesthetic

This compilation just goes to show that our collective knowledge of early--and even current--punk music will probably never be complete.

Punk's do-it-yourself ethic has basically handed us a tangled web of artists. And as revolutionary as the genre was, some of the bands aren't even worth sifting through.

Quite a few groups have "floated to the top," but there are plenty of decent bands being glossed over in the so-called punk history books.

That's where The Local Anesthetic comes in. It's only a small piece of the puzzle, but it's also more than an obscure conversation piece for the punk aficionado--it's good for listening, too.

The compilation covers the music released on what was Denver's most prolific independent music label. The artists were all local to the area, and these 33 tracks cover a wide array of music that would have probably fit under the umbrella term of "new wave" being used in the late 70s and early 80s.

The Frantix, who allegedly had the label's most popular single, tear the beginning of The Local Anesthetic open with "My Dad's a Fucking Alcoholic." Without a doubt, Frantix maintains the most raw sound out of all the compilation's bands.

Your Funeral displays an early rendition of goth rock loaded with reverb and deadpan vocals. White Trash has a great hardcore and trash aesthetic with complete with political lyrics and breakdowns. It seems like Bum Kon lives to play as fast as possible, and their 19-second self-titled song is nothing to shirk. Nails comes off as Colorado's very own version of New York Dolls. And Deftex has a ferocious song delivery that almost rivals the Germs.

Two of the most memorable tracks are Gluons' performance with Allen Ginsberg on "Birdbrain"--which was the first single to be released on the defunct Denver label--and Jeri Rossi's cover of James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's Man's World."

Ginsberg's almost comical poetry is unarguably what makes "Birdbrain," and Jeri Rossi brings the James Brown hit to a level of desperation the godfather of soul never could.

There will always be another compilation, another limited pressing of 7'' singles, or another band putting their all into several distorted guitar chords. So, maybe this music wasn't meant to be footnoted.

Whether you're a punk completest or just interested in hearing some underground music, this compilation will at least work to fill that void.

For more information the compilation, visit smoochrecords.com.

MP3s:
Your Funeral- "I Wanna Be You"
White Trash- "Wake Up"
Bum Kon- "The Draft"
Jeri Rossi- "I Left My Heart, but I Don't Know Where"

And click here to stream the entire album.