It's good, oh so very good...
‘Off Target’ is a compilation designed to commemorate the last 10 years of the Netherlands-based Coalition Records. The story begins on Labour Day of 1994, when Jeroen and Marcel; two young Trotskyist ‘idealists’ met at a Revolutionaries Party convention. They immediately found an affinity with their mutual love of the underground punk and hardcore scene, and, with an initial investment of just $1500, released Larm’s ‘Extreme Noise Terrorism’ 7” under the joint names of ‘Kaal’ and ‘Left Wing’ records. The release was a huge success, rapidly selling all 2800 copies. Spurred on by this victory, Jeroen and Marcel decided to put the money back into pressing more records, dropping the ‘Kaal’ and ‘Left Wing’ imprints to join forces permanently – thus Coalition Records was born.
The initial releases were mainly of political hardcore bands, such as Drop Dead, Seein’ Red, MK Ultra and 97A to name but a few, and their dedication to only putting out records of the highest calibre with artwork to match, swiftly earned them a solid reputation. In 2000 they reached a turning point in the label’s history, deciding to widen their catchment area by taking on bands with a more diverse sound. This started with JR Ewing and Oil, but soon encompassed bands such as Wolves, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Feverdream, Malkovitch, Seven Feet Four and The Je Ne Sais Quoi.
Creating a compilation of such an eclectic roster might prove to be a problem, but Coalition have overcome this by dividing the record into sections. The first half of the album deals with their more progressive and experimental side, which is then followed by the more traditional hardcore element, before finishing with a look at ‘Up And Coming’ bands, and a pair of ‘Bonus’ rarities.
The quality, variety and sheer amount of tracks featured is incredible – 35 songs from 30 different bands, spanning 75 minutes of some of the finest music I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. Whether it’s the leftfield pop of The Je Ne Sais Quoi, the winning melodies of Feverdream and Seven Feet Four, the old-school hardcore of Voorhees or the chaotic shred of Malkovitch and Betercore – there is something here for everybody. There are few tracks on here that I don’t actually like, and these minor disappointments are totally overshadowed by the overwhelming number of new bands this has introduced me to that are simply fantastic. The whole thing has been lovingly put together with poster-booklet packaging that contains release info and artwork from some of the Coalition back catalogue, rounding off a near-perfect release.
In case you hadn’t noticed, I rather like this CD, and no matter what your musical tastes are, I strongly urge you to give this a try. You won’t regret it.