3 out of 5

Label: Initial Records

Produced by: Various

“Oh yeah, those dudes?  I saw them at <insert venue name here> with <insert name-checkable band here>.  They freakin’ rocked.”

And they did, whoever they were; whichever band you bought their CD at their shows and made a point of following them through burgeoning releases and whenever they swung through town.  Yeah, you went to college with that guy, right?

The National Acrobat is one such band: the awesome punkers you knew were going places who unceremoniously broke up after some hot years of sweaty music.  They went places indeed, just not as TNA: members went on to other projects, including my lovers Young Widows.

‘The Collection’ logically collects all the scattered TNA material, handily fitting on one disc.  The group’s energetic reputation is blazingly apparent throughout the 30+ tracks, and you can certainly hear the potential for being madly influential: elements of Blood Brothers hardcore punk and Hydra Head mathcore dot the disc, though the DC punk sound is certainly the overwhelming style.  Thankfully, unlike some other DC stalwarts, TNA sprinkle their punk with enough variation to make the anthology surprisingly listenable at its full length and on repeat.  That being said, the tempo doesn’t change all that much, nor does the shouty vocal range, making riffs and moments stand out as opposed to whole songs.

As my listening tastes tend to fall into the “post” range of punk and rock and whatever, I admittedly prefer what came after The National Acrobat as opposed to the group itself.  It’s really crisply produced and undeniably skillfully played, but it really does come across as the type of band you obsess over before your ears grow to embrace what else is out there.  Interesting – and satisfying – as a “see where your favorite bands came from” listen, this collection of all of The National Acrobat’s material is worth checking out.