CDVS: Strike Anywhere vs. Christopher Lawrence

Leftovers--they're not just for Thanksgiving. In fact, the music industry's been making a killing on them since the Beatles started recording music (and well after--see the Anthology discs). The mentality is, you've paid for the studio albums, you've paid for the singles, maybe you've even paid for a concert ticket--surely you'll pay for an album of outtakes, one-off singles, B-sides, covers and rarities, too. Think Nirvana's Incesticide, R.E.M.'s Dead Letter Office, the Rolling Stones' Metamorphosis and, like, half of Morrissey's discography.

They're also not just for the Billboard titans, as two accomplished yet relatively underground artists unload their scraps-of-sorts onto their faithful.

Let's start with To Live in Discontent from Virginia punk act Strike Anywhere. The politically charged quintet would probably take issue with the whole leftovers association, as most of the material here isn't so much cast-off as it is just out of print. Two of the best songs here--"Awake" and "Antidote"--come from a rare Fat Wreck Chords seven-inch release, and five comprise the discontinued 2000 Chorus of One EP, clearly a boon for newbie fans. Another track of note, the ardent "Two Fuses," is an outtake from 2003's excellent longplayer Exit English. For songs so varied in their sources, and a band six years old, Discontent is remarkably consistent.

Equally energized though stylistically dissimilar, SoCal producer/DJ Christopher Lawrence quickly follows last year's artist album debut All or Nothing with Un-Hooked, a housecleaning of his 12-inch output with U.K. indie imprint Hook Recordings. Any fan unsatisfied with the former, almost de-facto "hits" album ought to find solace in the latter, as some of the progressive trance musician's best numbers--"Shredder," "Cruise Control" and "24/7"--and savory creative asides--the slower, arty "Filmer"--are included here. These, too, are extras by default; imagine Un-Hooked as Classic Queen to All or Nothing's Queen's Greatest Hits--or something like that.

Neither album is excessive or exploitative, given the admirable artistic value of the material and non-mainstream popularity of each act. In fact, they're both purposeful in their own right, unlike most compilations of this ilk. And, unlike the rotting pasta in your fridge, these leftovers ought to have a longer shelf life.--Mike Prevatt