Artist: Various
Album: Diesel U Music 2005

Label: Independent
Tracks: 13
Length: 54:28
Review By: Mark Fisher

 

Compilations are among the hardest things there are to review. They are usually jam packed with mediocre bands that span a variety of genres, preventing any kind of cohesiveness throughout the album. This compilation is no exception.

 

Diesel U Music is an international songwriting competition based in the UK. Bands/solo artists submit music from all over the world in 4 categories; they are Rock, Dance, Hip Hop/Soul, and Unsigned. This compilation is meant to feature the best of the submissions.

 

Surprisingly there are a few bands here that I’d like to hear more of. The Rolling Stones-esque rock and roll of Japanese Girls’ “Robbers on High Street” is pretty catchy. “Give Me the Night (ATOC Mix)” by electronic popster Xavier is a lot of fun as well. Sure it sounds like early 90’s Ace of Base (or any of the other bands that sounded like that), but I haven’t heard much of that in awhile so it tickles my fancy. Kenn Starr kicks the comp up a notch with his hip-hop “Walk the Walk.” The lyrics on this one are great. Starr tackles the need for the realization that not every black person is a gangster, in fact most aren’t. He goes on to point out that hip-hop’s image is not real and they should “say what you mean and mean what you say.” A bonus to his great lyrics is his delivery, very old school. Equal Vision Records Bear Vs. Shark turn in a sharp edged tune as well with “5,6 Kids.”

 

Overall, this isn’t bad for a compilation. Like I said before, comps are hard to review, fortunately this one has enough redeeming qualities to actually warrant the time it takes reviews. If you’re looking to check out some bands you’ve probably never heard of, you could do much worse than this.