A compilation featuring such luminaries as Panda Su, Conquering Animal Sound, Inspector Tapehead and (the goddess) Iona Marshall should be a thing of wonder that should provide many moments of spiritual uplift. In theory perhaps, but in this instance the assembled artistes have handed the keys to their songs over to Jonnie Common to do with as he pleases.
Surprisingly, he doesn't do very much at all satisfying himself with some Garageband 101 level experimentation. Even the normally impassioned Mersault ("And Butter Would Not Melt") sound small here and the normally eloquent Panda Su ("Eric Is Dead") very nearly gets subsumed by the mediocrity of that which sonically surrounds her. As for (the goddess) Iona Marshall, she attempts to attain escape velocity on "2 Hearts" before she too becomes trapped in plastic. Inspector Tapehead's "Pherenzik Tear", perhaps unsurprisingly, escapes more or less unscathed while the undisputed wonders of Conquering Animal Sound ("Machine") fare altogether less well.
As is usual for compilations, this is something of a curate's egg with some parts being most certainly better than others but, despite the protestations of the press release, the lack of imagination in the production is what really lets the side down. However, this compilation is blessed with the presence of (the goddess) Iona Marshall. Did I mention that Iona Marshall is a goddess?