Various Artists

Small Town Diorama

Written by: PP on 31/03/2014 22:21:07

It's usually not within our realm to cover compilation albums, but "Small Town Diorama" hits our home base so closely that it would be a shame not to cover it. The record is a compilation of fifteen different punk bands out of Aalborg, Denmark, and is meant to be a showcase of sorts to the flourishing underground scene specifically connected to the legendary 1000Fryd venue at the city. It has been put together by 5FeetUnder Records, a staple in releasing underground punk and hardcore records in Denmark in vinyl and CD formats, and so understandably their roster is well represented on the disc as well.

Among the 15 artists you find bands of all styles and phases of their career. There are established veterans like the hardcore punkers in Mighty Midgets and Nitty Gritty, as well as some brand new units like Political Spit and Dröns, neither of which I've personally ever heard of in the past. On one hand, you have some catchy, unpolished lo-fi punk courtesy of "Möwe", on the other, you have uncompromising grindcore courtesy of Lemlæstet Fosterbræk, and pretty much everything in between. Nitty Gritty offers us garage style punk rock with some trumpet/sax and female vocals to boot, and Løsladt Mod Kaution features another female vocalist and some more garage rock, albeit in a more melodic format. Then you have some amateurish Red Warszawa worship with Såås that sounds like it's clearly in demo stages at this point, and The Kinks influenced rock'n'roll with Jerknerds. The screamer-songwriter Stöj Snak is of course found with one of his great tracks on the record as well to complete the picture.

So overall, "Small Town Diorama" is an interesting behind-the-scenes peek into what's going on in Aalborg in terms of punk, hardcore, and related music. If you've always liked the Ungdomshuset scene in Copenhagen and the usually amateurish bands that play there, then this record is pretty much exactly for you, because almost all the bands on this record are literally at a point where they shouldn't be releasing anything just yet. There are exceptions: especially Möwe was a positive surprise aside from the established names like Mighty Midgets, Stöj Snak, and Nitty Gritty, just like Jerknerds were with their upbeat expression. So something's brewing in the Aalborg underground, it's just not ready yet for the most part.

5

Download: Möwe - Sandpapir, Stöj Snak - Fuck
For the fans of: Danish punk, Ungdomshuset
Listen: Facebook

Release date 15.03.2014
5FeetUnder Records

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