Exit Condition - 1988-1994

There is something quite sad about posthumous albums. Especially from nearly-made-it punk bands. Despite playing with the likes of Green Day and Snuff, Northern punks Exit Condition split up in 1994 and now – ten years later – are releasing this overview of their career. Pitching their sound somewhere between screaming hardcore bands and the more melodic emo-types, Exit Condition come over as a solidly competent band who must have been well capable of playing fiery shows. As anyone who has ever been in a band will tell you (at great length if you let them) who actually succeeds in the music industry is pretty arbitrary and this release shows that they probably deserved more recognition than they got. That said, while there are tracks here that are equal to a whole swathe of punk bands, there is nothing truly outstanding. The production is solid but doesn’t do the material any huge favours. The drums in partiuclar all sound rather tinny. The guitars however are surprisingly crisp. Overall this is a comprehensive overview of a capable band but it never really goes beyond that.

Track Listing:-

1 Twisted Tracks
2 Fear For Tomorrow
3 Stop At Nothing
4 White Collar Witch
5 Bite Down Hard
6 Walk Free
7 10,000 Lights
8 Firebird
9 Actions Of A Desperate Man
10 Zero Gain
11 Days Of Wild Skies
12 Fighting Chance
13 Learning The Hard Way
14 Strong And True
15 Slow Reflex
16 Furnace
17 A Friendship Lost
18 Out There
19 Brainfry
20 Slow To Forget
21 Still Burning
22 Throwing Sticks For The Underdogs
23 October Spring