Complete, Vol. 2: 1983-1985

The second disc sums up the final chapters of the life of Articles of Faith, and it is as good as the first installment, but for very different reasons. While the first posthumous compilation bristles with the energy of young punks finding their voices, volume two sees Vic Bondi coming into his own as a musician and songwriter. A decent amount of the record is still loud, but enough of it isn't, and all of it is smart and compelling. Most importantly, the lyrics have transformed from the usual dogmatic exercises in political and social bleating to tracks such as "Wait for Me" and "You Will Never Understand," originally released on the band's In This Life full-length (and fleshed out here with the Wait EP, a few tracks from a period compilation, and a trio of previously unheard bonus cuts), which shows maturity and depth. This personal and introspective approach would go on to influence his work with Jones Very, and eventually the whole emo movement, making this an essential piece of work whose documentation, replete with excellent liner notes from Bondi himself, was long overdue. ~ Brian O'Neill, Rovi