Arctic Reviews

For the many who would count themselves as uninitated here, Kerbdog were a trio from Kilkenny that were harvested as part of an early 90's effort by label bosses to cash in on the grunge explosion. Joining countrymen Ash and Therapy?, as uneasy fodder for the men in suits, they released just two albums, their eponymous debut receiving a certain amount of critical acclaim on arrival in 1993.

History tells us that Kurt Cobain's death only accelerated the nihilistic movement's dissolution, and few acts of the era have aged well, all of which makes the requirement for a Kerbdog tribute album tenuous at best. That said, as nerdy as frontman Conrad Battle looked, along with bandmates Darragh Butler and Connor Fennelly their punk-metal output at it's best - songs such as "Dry Riser" and "Sally" - was capable of matching the likes of Soundgarden and Stone Temple Pilots.

With Britpop dragging the musical momentum back across the Atlantic, only the poppier Ash would go on to commercial success at any kind of consistent level, and Battle and co. left Mercury in 1997 after their second long player On The Turn sank without trace. Now thirteen years later we have Pledge, a collection of would-be classics reimagined by a cast of artists who frankly would mostly be anonymous at their own launch parties.

Aficionadoes may well be pleased to hear a new version of "Mexican Wave" by Jamie Lenman and InMe's Dave McPherson puts in an impressive shift on "JJ's Song", but the rest chugs listlessly. All of this makes the omission of the band's grinding high point "Dummy Crusher" even more mystifying, and reinforces the suspicion that the whole enterprise is little more than an excercise in futility.