V/A – Continent Tapes Vol. II (Dr. Skap Records)

Recently I wrote a review about Continent Tapes, a various artist sampler released by Dr. Skap Records. The label managed to gather, assemble, and release a compilation featuring 50 European punk rock bands just before the pandemic spread across the globe. If you thought this project was courageous enough, wait until you hear this one. Dr. Skap Records decided to follow the tradition, so last year this prolific label released the second edition of this compilation, but this time with a focus on Asia. Of course, there are plenty of good bands in Asia, but doing that in the middle of the pandemic when many record labels, venues, booking agencies, and other music industry-oriented businesses decided to quit is more than a bold move. Therefore, Dr. Skap Records deserves our utmost respect for being that rad.

Continent Tapes carries a somewhat smaller amount of bands compared to its predecessor, but that doesn’t affect the quality of this sampler. This edition also has some educational purposes considering some punk rockers are not so familiar with bands from Asia. You will have a chance to enjoy bands such as Varakvatz, Overkill For Profit, Baby Boomers, Goat Eyes, Sangvar Day, SMZB, Fat Randall, The Riot Peddlers, The Battlebeats, Out Of Nowhere, Free Sergio, Stone Leek, The Triplet Code, Day Of Defeat, My Own Shiva, Soulscape, Detox, TIM, Skyrock, Rebel Riot, Squirt Guns, Lindenwood, Sputum, Sound Of Ruby, Imean’s League, Smoking Goose, Dispute, Mazhott, Whaleholic, The Greed, and Cut Lon. As you can see, this compilation carries bands that explore genres such as classic punk rock, melodic punk rock, skatepunk, streetpunk, hardcore punk, post-hardcore, metalcore, post-punk, noise rock, indie rock, and emo.

The sound quality ranges depending on the conditions these bands recorded their tracks. Therefore, you’ll stumble upon high-quality studio tracks, demo recordings, and live recordings. This way there’s a little bit more dynamic added to the entire compilation. Perhaps the first edition carries a little bit more quality considering the number of studio works, but that doesn’t change the fact that the second edition is equally good. Each band carries different vibes, ideas, and approaches to similar or identical music styles, so this edition unquestionably carries a multilingual and multicultural listening experience. As usual, Dr. Skap Records thought about the quality, packaging, and visual identity, so if you love professionally done cassette releases, then Continent Tapes Asia will be right up your alley. Head over to Dr. Skap Records for more information about ordering.