AMG Review of Static Disaster: UK in the Red Sampler

Wade Kergan
All Music Guide

Other labels dedicated to the gritty underbelly of rock & roll have fallen away or sought more lucrative pastures, but In the Red has dug deeper in the sweaty trenches of three-chord wonders and consistently pulled up weird, raw rock bands that always manage to be primitive and artful. The proof is in Static Disaster: UK in the Red Sampler, an ultra-affordable sampler sporting 27 tracks spanning the label's history, with a strong showing of '80s, '90s, and 2000s signings. The art damaged vanguard of the New York Dolls-like Clone Defects, the Piranhas, the Hunches, and synth-laden Volt are some of the more youthful standouts. There are a few polished gems here worthy of an audience with Mom and Dad -- like the dreamy garage pop of the Ponys, the Reigning Sound, and maybe even the stately Dirtbombs, but most of the crowd here tends to stray towards the dirty corners of the garage. Classic garage scuzz from Country Teasers, Knoxville Girls, Cheater Slicks, Blacktop, and greasy bits from Jon Spencer, Speedball Baby, the Bassholes, and the adopted godfather of all greasy barroom swagger, Andre Williams, all make this an eminently listenable collection. It's a great place to start for the curious, and a classic mixtape for the already converted.