"NOTES FROM THEE REAL UNDERGROUND"

A couple weeks ago, I had a lot of time on my hands on the highway toAustin for a Pigface show. I figured it would be a good time to take inthe entirety of this various artists collection handpicked by Pigfaceand Invisible Records head honcho Martin Atkins for Underground Inc.,an affiliation of 15 or so indy labels including Invisible. "Notes.."showcases 52 tracks over 3 discs by 28 artists, none of whom I'dpreviouslyheard of. I kept a simple 'thumbs up' vs. 'thumbs down' tallyas I listened and 20 tracks got the thumbs up. Not bad considering thesingle disc price tag. It's a diverse lot that represents both gendersand many facets of pop, punk, rock, industrial rock, dance, rap, etc.(but you won't find a single glitch) and, of course, the unavoidableSkinny Puppy/Orgy/Leatherstrip imitators. My bias lies more towards theoriginal and weird stuff rather than the cookie cutter refuse. Some ofthe highlights: Louie Fontaine's Foetus like swagger, Tub Ring's cutand paste carnival punk on acid, Kill Pop's explosive Big Black meetsMinor Threat sound and Livesexact's "You Must Get Down" amusing samplesand raps. And the cream of the crop: Mistlethrush's utterly delightfulmelodic rock gems "Heavy Set John" and "Jody Stone" ... they will behuge given proper exposure). Volume 2 was recently released with 2 morediscs packed with another set of artists. I have it on order.

 

samples:

• Kill Pop - Bow
• Livesexact - Up to Get Down
• Louie Fontaine - Evil Force in My Pants
• Mistle Thrush - Judy Stone
• Tub Ring - Living with Rene's Head