Dead Broke (2018, Reissue)
The start of a reissue campaign for Fifteen is giving me the opportunity to catch up on a band that I shamefully neglected until very recently. Despite my love of all things Crimpshrine for as long as I can remember, I never followed Jeff Ott to Fifteen. I'm not sure if I was totally aware of the link back in the 90s or if it was just another one of those times where the ability to buy everything I wanted to hear was hampered by finances. I certainly bought a lot of records back then and spent essentially every extra penny I had trying to find new sounds, but there was just so much coming out, it would have been impossible to get everything.
In hindsight, Fifteen is a band I should have found a way to scrape together a bit more cash for. As much as I like their records now, I feel like if I had heard these songs during those formative mid 90s years, they would have hit me just as hard as Crimpshrine did. Thus far The Choice Of A New Generation is the best Fifteen album I have heard. It's more energetic and catchy than the also great Swain's First Bike Ride. Everything also seems tighter, while still having that unmistakable fuzzy charm of those early Lookout records.
I'm really happy that Dead Broke started rereleasing these Fifteen albums. It sparked me to give them a try all these years later. I'm not sure where things go after this album. Once the band left Lookout they hopped around to a bunch of different labels and there doesn't seem to be a clear path, reissue wise. Looks like I might need to start tracking down some older records to keep my Fifteen journey going.
Fifteen - The Choice Of A New Generation:
https://deadbrokerekerds.bandcamp.com/album/the-choice-of-a-new-generation
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