Over a decade after their breakup, the Portraits of Past discography CD was just recently released. This CD, which is the first time PoP have released something not on vinyl, collects their self-titled LP (also known as the less economically titled 0100101110100011100100100), two compilation tracks, two tracks from their split 7" with Bleed and five live tracks.

For a band that only existed from 1994-1995, the progression between the early stuff to the LP songs is phenomenal. Oddly enough, the album starts with their later recordings and works its way back. The songs from the LP redefined emotional hardcore. Ever since this LP took off, nearly every screamo band has been trying to rip off PoP to varying degrees of success. Honestly, the first seven songs on the discography are essential for everyone into the screamo / emotional hardcore genre. The first compilation song sounds similar to the previous songs, though on a less epic scale. The other compilation song and the songs from the split with Bleed are still great, though they definitely resemble the less dynamic early emo stuff like Heroin and Antioch Arrow. The down-side to the second compilation song, "The One with the Slow Part," is that the recording sounds slightly fuzzy and muddy when compared to the rest of the songs. Surprisingly, the live tracks on the CD sound great. I had assumed that the tracks would sound awful since they were recorded in 1995, but since the recordings came from a radio show, everything comes through clearly.

Anyone who is into hardcore should own the Portraits of Past LP or this CD. I would not say that it is absolutely essential to buy the CD if you already own the LP, though the other songs are definitely worth checking out.

In short, this CD compiles everything from one of the most important emotional hardcore bands to have ever existed.