Various artists - Join the dark side, we got the music !

Are you in a hurry ? You do not need to keep on reading. Instead of that, you can stream this release straight from the label (which is AF Music)'s bandcamp. There, you can also pre-order the CD in a limited edition of 100, and if you do so, you'll be able to download the audio files immediately. Release date for the CD is planned for March, 13 2012. Please note that streaming currently requires Flash.

(complete track listing is to be found below)

AF Music is a German label, with bands from various countries in the world, focusing on the Gothic, New Wave, Post Punk, Indie styles, mainly. This compilation gives a good snapshot of the kind of music they use to feature.

You may (or you may not) know that I like a lot what AF Music has to offer. I discovered this great label back in September 2011, and I must confess I did until now not find the time to wander enough on their website to discover just anything that is available. So then, such a compilation is just perfect to discover some of the excellent bands from this label.

And, I must add immediately, well, this compilation is HUGE ! Providing you like the styles the label uses to feature, which is not certain, but in any case I can say that the tracks on this release were carefully selected to make the listening experience a close-to-perfect thing.

I don't see any weak point in the track selection. All of them are likely to be enjoyed ; the curatorial work has been done consciously and no mistakes were made. The overall result is very coherent. I would especially recommend this compilation to people who love Siouxie And The Banshees, The Lords Of The New Church, The Cure, that kind of things. This can also be applied to the label as a whole, by the way.

If I had to determine what is my favourite track on this compilation, well, I would be pretty much in trouble. As I wrote just before, the selecting process was so carefully done that many if not any of the featured tracks are pure gems, definitively excellent tracks, and this is a kind of draw when trying to decide which is the best one, at least, according to me.

Even the tracks that are slightly below other ones, in my own taste, are already far better that most of songs that use to be released nowadays. And, talking about the best ones, they are so good... I don't know what I should add to make you consider seriously the idea of listening to this release.

As of per usual, AF Music perfectly achieved a great achievement in the field of excellence. I don't know how far this label will go, but I can say, and this, is definitively and absolutely true, that they already are far beyond the usual quality standards in the world of contemporary music.

And now, as promised, here's the complete tracklisting :

1. Principe Valiente - In My Arms 04:18
2. The Foreign Resort - Take A Walk 03:49
3. The Transisters - Confuse-a-cat 03:03
4. M!R!M - No Way 03:59
5. Winter Severity Index - The Wiser 03:46
6. Rhombus - Timeless And Elegant 05:05
7. Christine Plays Viola - Permutations 03:50
8. Legion (UK) - Collapse 03:59
9. The Knutz - Ghost Dance Party 04:49
10. Stromble Fix - Dragonfly 03:47
11. Shearer - Monument 03:13
12. Rebentisch - Befreien 04:07
13. (((S))) - Hole In My Heart 03:36
14. The Search - The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter 04:15
15. Emerald Park - At the Mall 02:49
16. Danish Daycare - A Purpose To My Sins 04:52
17. Tobias Borelius - Arkitekten 02:50
18. Deied - A Shell Full Of Scars 04:39
19. Eternal Nightmare - The Worst Day In History 04:14

You are still here ? Please, go back to the top of this message and use the link provided to give this release a listen.