Time for another compilation of the eclectic from Edinburgh’s Bearsuit Records. As it is a compilation you know the drill by now. Each track gets strafed in turn and only the best survive.
So, starting at the beginning…Aloysha Het with “Little Green Men” aren’t what you expect of an esoteric electronic label like Bearsuit being more lo-fi indie pop with a hint of sixties psychedelic but entertaining nonetheless. Truer to form were French band Rhizottome and “Synovie” unfolds like Michael Nyman doing some free from jazz whilst smoking a Gauloise. Kirameki does his usual disjointed sampling thing on the very urban “Take It Or Leave It” while Whatfunnybirdsdiveintowater make a splash in the pop time machine stakes with “Elephants Across The Snowy Mountains”.
Whizz Kid’s “Falling Out Of Tees, Falling Down Hills” starts minimalist then gets a bit, well, French pop in its grooviness. Leaving a lot of space between the notes was Jimmy Rosso as “Ripped” turns itself into a serious soundtrack cue. Forofo, on the other hand, are more reminiscent of a stripped out electronic reinvention of Felt than anything else on “Harmoose and Pidida”. Ever classy is Serbian ambient electronica maestro PNDC here collaborating effectively with his cohorts Housework and the truly exquisite Shadowlike on “Pilots” – urban, urbane and ethereal simultaneously.
Taub seem more than a touch lightweight and unimaginative compared with PNDC on “Slow Dance” as does Tidy Kid and the strained vocals on “Smell” soon irritate. Bunny & The Electric Horsemen follow on with “Lord of The Idiots” but bring little new to the party while Magnitophono exudes an entrancing mystical simplicity on “To Yourself”. Pleasantly uninspiring is about as far as Harold Nono and Hidekazu Wakabayashi go on “Nobody Plays Baseball Here “then Jimmy Rosso makes a pulsating charge into left field with the hypnotic “And”. Rounding things off is Japan’s moomLooo with “Girl of a Skin Coloured Brown” fading harmoniously to grey.
Top marks go to the PNDC/Housework/Shadowlike collaboration “Pilots” with honourable mentions going to Whizz Kid’s “Falling Out Of Trees, Falling Down Hills” and Jimmy Rosso’s “End”. One final thing – what happened to the oddball cover photography that was a highpoint of previous releases from this label? I miss it.