A time machine back to when pop-punk didn't suck.

Artist: Face To Face
Album: Shoot the Moon: The Essential Collection
Label: Antagonist Records
Tracks: 21
Length: 65:51
Review by: Christopher Thomas!

With every new generation of teenagers, the “underground” music scene finds itself a new trend. A few years ago it was metal, this year it’s screamo, and some are forecasting alt-country as the next big thing. Once upon a time pop-punk was the musical flavor of choice, and so entered into the scene a glut of look-alikes and knockoffs in Dickies pants and Vans shoes. As happens with each new incarnation of the scene, mediocrity ruled supreme and only a few bands were able to rise above the standard and produce something that made some kids remember why they liked pop-punk in the first place. Face To Face was one of those bands.

As highlighted in this career retrospective, Face To Face started humbly as another in the pack of early pop-sensible punk bands in the vein of the Descendents. But as time progressed, so did the band’s sound, growing from middle-of-the-road punk into a mature, well-crafted brand of catchy, angst-ridden, rock.

In their final years, Face To Face’s sound became one of gruff, shouted vocals laid on top of sparse harmonies and crowd vocals. Ultimately the band had defined a sound that was patently their own without straying too far from the genre from which they were birthed.

Those listeners looking for strong, poignant pop-punk that places itself firmly above the average, look no further than Face To Face. Featuring a long list of tracks from live and studio recordings, this retrospective is an excellent place to survey the lifespan of this now defunct band in one enjoyable sitting.