Various Artists
Tooth & Nail Video, Vol. 4
Reviewed by Brian Vincent McGovern
(Tooth & Nail) Here's another look into the absurdly demented minds of the T&N video dept. (aka: a guy with a camera bugging the staff, and the staff playing along). Aliens and cover-ups is the unofficial theme of this video, and it even features some Area 51-inspired footage that cuts in & out like a spy transmission. Frodus will make you laugh. Yes, you read correctly. Just watch the end of the video, after the credits roll... Also here is a way-too-long segment, featuring a T&N staff trip to an amusement park. Pretty neat if you don't mind at least 10 minutes of Brandon Ebel riding a roller coaster. But what's the purpose of the video? That's right - music. And some of the year's best made it on here, like The Supertones' "...Strike Back," "Reject," by Living Sacrifice, Plankeye's "Someday," and a great look at Stavesacre ("An Eclipsing"). MxPx is also featured, with "Buying Time," filmed in what looks like a practice room. In fact, Slick Shoes' "Joe's Sick" looks to be filmed in their garage. One of my favorite songs of the year, Outer Circle's "It Must be Wonderful," is not easily forgettable, featuring the band members driving around in a car, running over clowns, you know, stuff like that. I'll admit that Danielson Famile's "Rubbernecker" was pretty cool, as it probably took a lot of time to film. It's nothing but claymation and construction paper animation. Creativity and versatility continue to surround the compilation, as evidenced further by bands like Training for Utopia, Joy Electric, The Dingees, Fold Zandura, etc.