Punk rock is such an umbrella term it covers just about everything from poppy emo to the street wise sounds of neo-oi!. Somewhere, however, it seems straight-up punk rock, lacking a snazzy sub-genre label, got crowded out of its own genre. Triple X goes a long way toward amending that, tossing out a collection of no-nonsense punk with this compilation.

Collecting a smattering of locally oriented bands from across the country, Stranglehold paints American punk rock with broad strokes, touching on everything from the absurd to the snarling and angry to the tight, focused rock punk is known for. Featuring all the trimmings making up the standard punk sound, growling guitars, driven beats and the slightest touch of cocky swagger, this record proves to be one of the most true to the genre compilations in some time.

Though it would have been astoundingly easy to fall off track and include everything from pop punk to hardcore on this record, Stranglehold manages to put just that on the punk scene: grabbing hold of 21 gritty tracks sure to satisfy just about any punk palate. From goofball tracks like the Lawndarts' "I Wanna Be a Spaceman" the Resentments' "OK, OK I'm a Starfucker," to tougher tracks such as "Gagged by the Flag" by the oxymoronically named New Society of Anarchists. More than ever, however, the bands shining brightest on this one take a roots-heavy, straightforward approach to their songwriting, with Big Shrimp's "Paranoid Sucka" and Nuclear Saturday's "Waiting" stealing the show on this record, coming out with the perfect balance of guts, know-how and sparkle.

Triple X's eye for finding bands proves good on this record, though the coasts are over-represented at the expense of the heartland, with only six of the records 21 bands landlocked. It's an oversight limiting some of the flavor of this compilation, overlooking some of the indie-tinged work of the Midwest, though for the most part Stranglehold gives salivating fans a chance to check out a host of acts usually bound by local ties.