Various Artists, Take Action 7

Hopeless/Sub City Records have decided to audibly bash, melodically sweep, and musically cock its feathers with their latest jaw-dropping punk rock compilation, Take Action 7. With yet another stunning lineup that includes the likes of All Time Low and radio darlings The Spill Canvas, the seventh volume of the Take Action series fills the oh so large shoes that its forefathers of have left behind. More than merely a simple mindless track of songs, this album takes you on a ride, complete with feelings of excitement, liberation, and release that almost makes you want to be cuddled after it’s all over.

Rather than start with a mildly catchy tune to ease you in, Take Action kicks off with the ferocity of alternative rock (Every Time I Die and Chiodos), and then gathers a steady pace of punk led by artists like Meg & Dia, May Day Parade and Cute Is What We Aim For. The continuous flow of songs speeds up to cap off the album with Thrice and Haste the Day. Having come to the end, and as the disappointment begins to erupt, you are thrust into the mind-blowing discovery that there exists yet another disc that offers up a visual display of videos and performances from 20 more different artists and that will force you to succumb to the uncontrollable urge to play it all over again.

With that said and done, if you are still a bit shy and apprehensive in your decision to purchase such a maniacal and genius concoction of music, then perhaps the idea that any investment in Take Action will also be an investment in helping to save the world. As it turns out, Hopeless/Sub City Records donates proceeds to various non-profit organizations and charities. Sub City, with all Take Action releases, offers audiences a multi-disc set of music and a tour to accompany it, resulting in over one million dollars raised for such charities as The Foundation Fighting Blindness, H.E.A.R., A Place Called Home, and the Women’s Justice Center.

So let’s review, then: wicked tracks? A visual feast of music videos? A place given for your ears to internally fist pump their way into an orgasmic punk rock heaven? Do you really need me to keep convincing you? If so…how about just doing it for a good cause?