Kill
Rock Stars
Tracks & Fields Compilation 2
KRS401
2004
www.killrockstars.com
So I am not normally in the habit of giving space over to label comps. I do have to thank the folks at Noreaster Media for hooking me up with this particular pack of tunes. Kill Rock Stars is one label that has prided itself on creating a diverse portfolio of amazing bands from all over the indie universe. Tracks & Fields 2 exhibits this portfolio with an exactness that is not to be discounted. I found myself playing the thing over and over again and was delighted to see that the KRS crew had kept the pap down to a minimum.
The first CD Tracks sprays you with KRS greats like Jucifer, Superchunk, Xiu Xiu (a personal fave of mine), and S.F. disco-perverts, Gravy Train. These bands comprise only a sliver of what is to be had on the Tracks CD and are diamonds sprinkled in a field of gems. It was a memory trip to hear Gas Huffer, who played the agro-garage throb, “Release the Robots”. It was also a pleasure to be introduced to the Capricorns, whose vengeful pop psychotics rub at the ears. They even managed to capture His Name Is Alive, whose choral orchestrations I hadn’t heard since they were on the 4AD label back in the mid-90s.
The second disk Fields (now do you get it?) also is chocked full of rich indie syrup. Electronica fems, the Slumber Party kept my head wagging and my boots stompin with their silly pop stuff. The Sahara Hotnights did a fab version of the Ramones’ “Rockaway Beach”, keeping the tempo up, the guitars buzzing, and the lyrics dumb- just like Dee Dee, Joey and company would have wanted it. Male Slut was a new find for me and I plan to check the rest of their catalog after hearing the avant-rock “Industrial Noise Blues”. They bring the album to a close with the Decembrists “Everything I Try To Do, Nothing Seems To Turn Out Right”. Well, in this case, I‘d say that Kill Rock Stars did it perfectly.
-John Southern