Hot on the heels of the re-formed
Threats releasing their first proper album, the punk reissue and obscurities label gathered 27 of the Scottish group's early '80s singles and several demos for their never-completed album for this comprehensive overview. ("Comprehensive" is the key term; several tracks appear in two or even three not terribly distinct versions.) Although
the Threats'
Twelve Punk Moves was fairly spotty, these songs, by a younger and hungrier incarnation of the group, get by on attitude, a good line in Oi!-style shoutalong slogans, and vaguely leftish political sensibilities (check out the sloganeering "Underground Army," the set's best rabblerouser).
Demos and Rarities is uneven, and at just over an hour of multiple iterations of only 13 two-minute, three-chord shouters, it's stuffed with needless filler. However, for the right kind of fan of punk-era obscurities, quite a bit of this album will be most entertaining. ~ Stewart Mason