Shipwreck Day
A Knw-Yr-Own Compilation
Knw-Yr-Own
Released to tie in with Anacortes, WA’s Knw-Yr-Own’s What-the-Heck festival, this is another impressive label compilation, featuring all previously unreleased tracks from bands that embrace the four-track sound rather than try to make excuses for it. Some big names, relatively speaking, stand out at first glance – Calvin Johnson offers a fine track and The Microphones provide an unusually captivating sea shanty – but it is the several more unfamiliar artists that provide the big surprises and often the best moments on here.
The super strange, dinner-party kraut of The Stubborn Deaf’s offering, for instance, or the absolutely fantastic, shimmering bedroom pop of D+. Button Happy’s “Skyscraper” are both standout moments, with that latter band’s vocalist giving one of the comp’s most stunning performances. Tracks from Karl Blau and The Gift Machine are both beautiful, all swirling psychedelia and lo-fi wizardry. And there=EDs so much more, with most of the album’s 21 tracks having something unique and exciting to offer.
There’s not much of a chance that you’ll ever hear these songs on your local radio station, but that=EDs just another good reason to pick this one up. An affordable and practical way to get to hear some truly idiosyncratic and unjustly ignored artists on the current bedroom scene.
Knw-Yr-Own Records: http://www.knw-yr-own.com
