Face to Face - Shoot the Moon: the Essential Collection

Shoot the Moon: the Essential Collection features twenty-one recorded and live tracks which span Face to Face’s twelve year career and follows the band from independent label releases to a brief stint on A&M then back again to their indie label roots. Though Face to Face is truly beloved by fans, this collection—which features rare photographs and extensive liner notes—serves as a reminder of the very lateral movement of 'punk' in the last fifteen years. All of Face to Face’s career highlights are here represented, including “Disconnected,” “Pastel,” and “Ordinary.” The collection kicks off with a level of pop punk intensity that rarely varies, and vocalist Trevor Keith never wavers in the delivery of his slightly preachy and clichéd yet earnest and unquestionably sincere lyrics. It’s obvious that Shoot the Moon prefers to remember Face to Face in a certain way, and some career missteps, such as 2000’s Reactionary and the self-parodying, Ignorance is Bliss, were apparently not deemed an essential part of the band’s history. The result is a collection of songs that are all very similar that only repeat listenings will reveal any subtle nuances to the uninitiated. Formed in ‘the year that punk broke’—1991, Face to Face’s 80s hardcore roots are undeniable, and the band truthfully doesn’t add much musically to the pop punk formula of their forbears. Although, judging by the number of fans singing along on the live version of their most famous anthem, “Disconnected,” it is quite clear that these SoCal musicians and their somewhat hackneyed tales of alienation are a great comfort to their fans. Those listeners who were pissed off, alienated teenagers in the 1980s may want to Let Them Eat Jellybeans. [www.antagonistrecords.com]