Various

An Incestival: A Gathering of Orlando's Worst [7 inch] (2008)

ffwoodycooks

Not since the demise of Rivethead have there been so many awesome, collaborative bands forming in the wake of a breakup. Even though I adored New Mexican Disaster Squad, the direction its members have gone in is more than auspicious, to say the least. Though, the members of what used to be Polluted Youth have something to do with this explosion of warm, crusty goodness. After each band split, they mangled together and split into two, where each group had a cohesive lineup, or something like that. So, to summarize, this 7" record consists of four songs buy four bands made up of just nine dudes.

New Mexican Disaster Squad spits out the first track, "Yesterday's Faults." The song is reminiscent of those that can be found on their self-titled full-length, probably my favorite release by them. Complete with plenty of backing "whoa"s and straightforward guitar riffs, the song is a fitting end to the band. They go out in regular NMDS fashion, with plenty of melody to caress your ears and a lot of hard riffing to punch you square in the dick. As much as I love Don't Believe, I'm happy they reverted back to the `80s stroking ways of the self-titled to write their last released song.

Polluted Youth, the band that basically gave itself up to NMDS in order to create two beautiful, bouncing, baby bands, comes out with, "Carcinogents." The song illustrates that Polluted Youth is just as compatible with NMDS as Western Addiction was on their 2004 split. The song includes wavering vocals along with a walking guitar riff to create the catchiest song on the record. The song eventually reaches a bass interlude then kicks right back into gear until the song ends.

Gatorface is the first of the incubated spawn that makes up the B-side. Their song, "Risky Business" was apparently recorded along with their excellent EP, Sick and Stupid. The song was later saved for this release, and definitely feels like an outtake. The chorus has a sort of "so awkward that it's catchy" feel to it. Unfortunately, it remains awkward for too long before it becomes catchy.

Virgins supplies the shortest, but probably my favorite song on this 7". "Our Words" has a sort of solemn, chanting feel to it until it kicks into gear. Besides having some parts slower than any of the other songs, it exudes more energy than any of the previous songs. This is the type of song I want to be playing when I run away from an authority figure (whether it be a policeman, security guard or "Paul Blart: Mall Cop"). Fans of their debut album will not be disappointed.

So, basically this 7" serves as a send-off to two great bands and can be a great introduction to two new ones. It's also got some sweet Horsebites artwork depicting what seems like `50s style (Gaslight Anthem would be pumped) postcard art intertwined with sharp, rusty objects. It's the kind of thing that makes me wish Richard Minino made birthday cards.