The Blasting Concept, Volume 1: An SST Compilation

Once upon a time, compilations mattered. Probably because they didn't get released at the rate of five per week like they seemingly did in the mid-90s. Some held lasting influence, cracked the ground open, spawned dozens of derivative and unique rock groups, made us hate our parents more, huff spray paint, stick safety pins through our parts and give voice to a reservoir of black and brown exurb anger which was previously expressed via habitual masturbation, self-loathing or slasher films (this author excepted).

This did that, and more. It and its next gen pal comps (See: The Wailing Ultimate) stuck a blockbuster up our asses, thank God. I saved my dishwasher gig money and bought each of these records.

SST changed our lives.
Allmusic: SST was one of the most important indie labels to emerge out of the punk rubble. Based in L.A., the company would soon list such seminal '80s bands as the Minutemen, Black Flag, the Meat Puppets, Hüsker Dü, and Sonic Youth as part of its roster. This early roundup from 1983 spotlights tracks from all of these bands, save for Sonic Youth. San Pedro's finest, the Minutemen, get the lion's share with four songs from their debut release. Black Flag follows suit with three fine sides from its Jealous Again album (plus some singles), while the Meat Puppets contribute two from their own maiden release and Hüsker Dü is tapped for "Real World" from the Metal Circus EP. And rounding things out are solo shots from Saccharine Trust, Stains, Overkill, and Wurm. A must for the historically minded punk fan.

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Saccharine Trust - PaganIcons

Trouser Press: Too early to be post-hardcore but too uncommon for any simple classification, this Southern California quartet doesn't try to create a blizzard of noise — they go at it more artfully, but with equally ear-wrenching results. On Paganicons, singer Joaquin Milhouse Brewer tunelessly barks lyrics (as in "We Don't Need Freedom" and "A Human Certainty") that aren't bad in a pretentious mock-intellectual vein; the music is loudly abrasive, but with spaces and dynamics largely uncommon to the genre.

All Music Guide: Formed in the early '80s by Joaquin (aka Jack) Brewer and guitarist Joe Baiza, Saccharine Trust metamorphosed from a dissonant, noisy, anti-rock quartet into a more sophisticated, but still jagged and noisy rock-jazz band. Frequently, the band's "songs" were semi- or wholly improvised using a basic riff or simple drum pattern for guidance, rapidy expanding into uncharted territory. Not the most important band to emerge from Los Angeles in the early '80s, Saccharine Trust is interesting for incorporating varied textural elements into a genre that was defined by volume and simplicity. This band took risks that many of their SoCal brethren would never have dreamed of taking. This, however, does not make Saccharine Trust better than their peers, simply different, and a little more intriguing. By the early '90s, Brewer started his own band called, big surprise, The Jack Brewer Band. Joe Baiza formed the fine, funky, and exciting Universal Congress Of.

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