Various Artists
Spin This
Reviewed by Dylan Charles
In the history of Christian modern rock, few labels have a better back catalog than Frontline. Long before all of the pop indie labels we take for granted today--most of whom populate the pages of 7ball--Frontline was one of the lone voices, crying in the wilderness of contemporary Christian music. Spin This makes the case that, after years of floundering, the label that opened doors for so many is back with a shovel to dig up the next generation of modern rock and rap. And a mighty strong case it is. The collection is broken into three basic categories, to give the listener perspective: There are tracks from brand-new and upcoming releases; tracks from records released in the past two years; and tracks from the Frontline vault. As a listening experience, Spin This pushes a lot of the right buttons: The new tracks include gruff ska-core sensations The Insyderz and hardcore/metal/rappers Every Day Life. The second category includes some fine work from legends Poor Old Lu, rocker Kevin Clay, the sweet electro-pop of Echoing Green, the eclectic stew of Chaos is the Poetry and the hardcore rap of Gospel Gangstas and CMC's. The classic category is headed up by pioneers Michael Knott and Christian punkers The Altar Boys. Given what's in those vaults, the only disappointment of Spin This is that there isn't more of the "classic" category (and the Michael Knott track is pretty recent); there's a box set in there somewhere. As a modern rock and hip hop collection, though, Spin This shows that some of the younger indie labels may want to keep a lookout: This is one dog that still has some teeth left.