Melodic punk by a band from Hamburg, Germany that sings in English and has been around for nearly a decade. This is the band’s first proper release in the States and this album compiles a best-of from Small Town Riot’s catalog to date in reverse chronological order. A solid, if unremarkable synthesis of a lot of current bands with reverberations of Anti-Flag, Hot Water Music, Screeching Weasel, and Dear Landlord coming to the surface. There is one major misstep on the album, that being the acoustic folk punk track “Madness” that bogs down the album half way through. Fortunately, they recover quickly with the next track “Timmy” that is the most up tempo, hardcore-influenced, and perhaps finest on the record. The other standout tune is “Cemetery Hill” which adds a harmonica and the western swing of cow punk to the mix to craft a damn fine song. It ended up my favorite tunes on the CD were towards the end, so, apparently, I liked Small Town Riot’s earlier material and the newer stuff left me a bit cold.
–Jake Shut (Warbird)