The Best of Infa-Riot

Infa Riot were one of the crusaders of Oi!, a band that emerged within the same spiky handful as the Anti Nowhere League and the 4-Skins, and who were championed through the early '80s by much the same audience. Unlike many of their peers, however, the band was not long for this world -- two albums and four years after forming, they split, leaving behind nothing more than a heap of battered vinyl -- and idiot grins on the faces of their fans whenever the band's name was mentioned. This compilation, Best of Infa Riot (so long overdue that you almost started thinking you'd dreamed up the whole thing) rounds up 20 songs that truly can be called the best of Infa Riot. All the group's original 45s are here (together with a couple of B-sides); both albums are cherry-picked for their most unassailable highlights, and from the moment the super-anthemic "Riot Riot" kicks in straight on through to the closing celebration of "Punch the Air with Glory" (oh, and the fans really did!), the decades roll back with such fiery abandon that 1982 -- the year of Infa Riot's absolute peak -- really doesn't seem that long ago after all. ~ Dave Thompson|