At a mere £3, and serving as an introduction to 23 bands, it seems almost ungrateful to say anything bad about Premeditation Records’ third label sampler. However, this compilation suffers from a fairly major flaw – a lot of the bands sound awfully similar.
Admittedly, this is an issue with all compilations from record labels – the realisation that the majority of bands on any imprint are there because they fit in, and it’s a realisation that becomes a little tiring when they are presented one after another. Variety is, after all, the spice of life, and this compilation is a little on the mild side in patches.
As such, the high points of this mix are those bands who fall somewhat outside the label’s crunchy and metallic comfort zone, and offer something a little more off-beat. Edinburgh’s Super Adventure Club stand out with their wild time changes and yelping vocals, and while they clearly owe Mike Patton and Mr Bungle an enormous debt, there are far worse people to be in musical hock to. Meanwhile, Dundonians Laeto are a reminder that, when used correctly, ’emo’ needn’t be a dirty word, their surging guitars reminiscent of the likes of Jimmy Eat World or Joan of Arc.
These two bands, flanked by solid efforts from Olympic Swimmers and Titus Gein among others, help to lift the whole group, and mark Premeditation out as a label with decent taste. Three quid for an introduction to their work seems like a perfectly fair deal to me.