Search - Articles of Faith :: Vol. 2-Complete 1983-1985

Another reason to give thanks

Patrick T. Grady | Palatine, IL | 10/21/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Again, I've gotta thank Alternative Tentacles for re-issuing the Articles of Faith discography. Volume 2 is extra special because it contains the first ever re-release of AOF's final LP, "In This Life" (most of the group's previous material had been re-issued in Europe in the early '90's). With "In This Life" the group ditched its political rants for more personal topics, a move that evidently caused a great deal of tension in the band. While Vic Bondi's claim that this is one of the first emo releases is certainly debateable (I don't believe that simply writing about personal issues qualifies as "emo", otherwise you could as easily call Black Flag and Minor Threat emo as you could bands like Braid and Sunny Day Real Estate), there is no doubt that the band was venturing out both musically and lyrically. "In This Life" also displays a bit of a Husker Du influence, which is somewhat understandable considering that not only was Husker Du quite popular at the time but Husker Du frontman Bob Mould is also "In This Life"'s producer. Still, there was plenty of hardcore left msucially in AOF. Just listen to "Remain in Memory" or "Doesn't Have To Be That Way" to see what I mean. The unreleased bonus track is actually just a solo acoustic rendition of "What We Want is Free", one of AOF's earliest tracks, recorded in May 2002 and I actually found it to be quite good, better that the folky version of "In This Life" on Vol. 1 (not that I think that one is bad).
I could do without the Effigies bashing in the liner notes. As a fan of both bands, I understand that they didn't get along but two decades later, their differences seem rather petty. But whatever, liner notes aside, the music is great. Fans of '80's punk and hardcore will enjoy."