When longtime
Suicidal Tendencies frontman
Mike Muir started up his own label, Suicidal Records, during the late '90s, one of the first releases was
Friends & Family, a compilation of
Suicidal tracks and selections from related bands. Of the six
Suicidal tracks, it's surprising to find out that their long-haired thrash-metal direction of the late '80s/early '90s is passed over in favor of other styles, including
Sublime-ish ska ("Panic"), funk ("Payback's a Bitch"), and a return back to the hardcore style of their early albums ("We Are Family"). Elsewhere, the tracks credited to
Muir's solo band,
Cyco Miko, are vintage skatepunk, while the remaining acts, Funeral Party, Creeper, and Freakazoid Twins, all specialize in funky hip-hop sounds. Fans of
The Art of Rebellion may not get all the different stylistic shifts here, but
Muir has always been about "expecting the unexpected," and the inaugural volume of
Friends & Family certainly follows that rule. ~ Greg Prato