Reviews

V/A Punks in Peoria LP

Taking a long view of the various punk and alternative bands to emerge from Peoria, Illinois throughout the ’80s and ’90s, this comp provides some cool snapshots of a small-town scene’s evolution. Starting off with goofy, KBD-worthy tunes from bands with names like CONSTANT VOMIT and BLOODY MESS & HATE, the tone of the collection progresses into some weird, later ’80s new wave/post-punk (peep the lo-fi sci-fi of DAED KCIS’s “Ghost Story Lane”) before eventually landing into a showcase of various popular ’90s styles. There’s archetypal indie pop in tracks from DOLLFACE and DISMISS, as well as what sounds like misguided NIRVANA-worship from FAST FOOD REVOLUTION, and many degrees in between. This will be a cool nostalgia trip for those who were there, and it’s likely to remind folks in various locales of bands they went to high school with.