Various Artists - Rocket Girl Double CD Compilation
(Rocket Girl)
Rocket Girl has established itself as one of the best European labels with a
stellar lineup and consistently great releases.
This box set collects a good deal of the singles they've released as well
as a bonus CD of unreleased tracks from related
bands.
The first CD has some great tracks by Windy & Carl, Loopdrop ("Siempre Azul"
is a very promising introduction to a band I
had never heard), Transient Waves, Mazarin and the Low/Transient Waves/Piano
Magic collaboration. Though, the mediocre
Piano Magic and P.S. I Love You tracks drag the middle of the CD down
considerably, Mazarin, Füxa, and Coldharbourstores do
a nice job of picking things up at the tail end.
The second CD has nearly all previously unreleased tracks (the State River
Widening is from a limited 7", and the Keiron Phelan/David Sheppard song
is from a 12" Rocket Girl released). A great
collaboration from Lenola and Mazarin shows up, as do
some tracks that outshine most of the previously released tracks from the
first CD. The Workhouse's guitar based instrumental
builds into an atmospheric whirl and gives the Loopdrop song from the first
disc some competition. Gnac, Experimental Audio
Research, and Loopdrop contribute great tracks, though the Loopdrop doesn't
hold up to the song from the first cd of this set. However,
the last track is the most notable track on the entire compilation. It's
over 11 minutes long with two different songs split
between several minutes of silence. The second song is presumably a hidden
track of some sort and is fairly forgettable.
However, the first 2 minutes are Füxa's "Supercharged." This is by far the best
song Randall has done since In Flight Audio, and
very high on the list of the best songs Füxa has ever done. Absolutely
amazing!
The packaging consists of a nice blue box with the rocket girl logo in
silver (the first 2000), and the two CDs and inserts
inside (an info sheet and a square of artwork by Louise Clark in the first
1000). The music doesn't quite live up to the
nice package it comes in, but it has some gems that more than make up for
the few lackluster tracks.
|
