The best record by Amherst-based hardcore band Orchid, originally released as a 10" by Ebullition Records in 2001. The record is the most fully realized statement of the band's intriguing synthesis of German and Canadian hardcore with critical theory.

Orchid's music was, in the final analysis, not really that original: they took several pages from the gloomy, octave chord-saturated books of Uranus, One Eyed God Prophecy, Acme, et al. However, they executed the style at least as well as any other band and often with more memorable songs. What really put them over the top was their lyrics and aesthetic sense, which blended elements from Situationism (admittedly an overused influence for many punk bands) and the leftist ferment of the 1960s as well as Continental philosophy.

One of the best songs on Dance Tonight! Revolution Tomorrow! is the fifth number, "I Am Nietzsche." In many ways it connects all the band's passions: philosophy, sex, punk as subversive critique, etc. Musically, the song goes from a bleak guitar figure into hyperactive hardcore, building up to a seismic mosh break and the repeated scream of the title phrase. The song ends with the lines: "1886 was a very good year - and you know this to be true. Thus spake me." (1886 was the year that Nietzsche published Beyond Good and Evil, independently and at his own expense - solid evidence that the DIY spirit is much older than Ian MacKaye.)

The final song, "...And The Cat Turned To Smoke", is often noted for its effective use of violin, a rarity in hardcore (although more so five years ago than now). What's maybe more interesting are the lyrics, which break from the clever, academic mold to deliver a romantic lament in the classic San Diego emo mold - however, every text permits multiple readings. They also delivered one of their cutest song titles on this record with "Snow Delay at the Frankfurt School."

Track listing:

1) Destination: Blood!
2) To Praise Prosthesis
3) Lights Out
4) Anna Karina
5) I Am Nietzsche
6) Victory Is Ours
7) Don't Rat Out Your Friends
8) Black Hills
9) Snow Delay At The Frankfurt School
10) ...And The Cat Turned To Smoke

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