Pulse of Mid-America
Various Artists
Anatomy
Unification by geography is what Pulse of Mid-America is at its core. The seventeen bands on this compilation all hail from undefined places in the mid-west. Being from Michigan (part of the namesake area, I believe), I feel sort of slighted that I’ve never heard of a good two-thirds of these bands. Anyway…
Mike Dixon kicks things off with his splintered Pavement homage “Half an Even Day” before the remaining bands careen through gutter rock (The Coke Dares, Sex Tiger), token lolita pop (Pop Lolita, ha I’m funny), slow-core (Early Day Miners), Looper-influenced electro pop (Tham Nahem), twee folk (June Panic), traditional mid-west rock (Pious Companion) and gonzo hardcore (Racebannon). It’s eclectic to say the least, but manages to maintain a decent level of consistency throughout. The downside is that this collection shows no real regional dialect for Mid-America. There is nothing here to distinguish this part of the country from any other. The positive side of such a broad palette to draw from is that nearly every sub-genre within indie rock is accounted for. I guess that just means that while you probably won’t find your new favorite band on here, you’ll be able to find something that sounds reasonably similar to it.
Anatomy Records: http://www.anatomyrecords.com/
