V/A – Building / Datawaslost Records / 2001 / 14 Songs / http://www.datawaslost.net

Decidedly espousing a low-fi sound for their label, datawaslost records puts out this compilation with 14 acts that do not amaze with their production or polish, but through their music. Starting off exactly where any self-respecting lo-fi compilation should start, coltrane motion’s “Can’t Explain” is a paint-by-numbers Beck spinoff track, albeit with a touch more acoustic than even Beck would like. Moving from the vaguely mechanical to a noise-laden distortofest in Swissfarlo’s “Cans For Money”. Datawaslost recordings shows that each band does not need to be cut from the same cloth to make a compilation cohesive. For Swissfarlo’s track, put on a Kurt Cobain vocal track with “Sunday”-era Sonic Youth, and ye might have a passable substitute. By far the strongest track on the disc, Deltoro’s Gasoline” seemlessly blends Touch and Go-styled female vocals with technical drumming that tries successfully to sound like a drum machine. “Long for Fever”, the track by Velcro One, begins promisingly with An Albatross-style synthesizer beat, but rapidly fades off into the traditional indie song, perfect for play on the typical college station. Again exploiting the lo-fi song of the disc, Travels the World makes a radio-ready track in the acoustic/drum led “A Right One”. More like a grouping of shots from a well-tuned gun, Building is a smattering of acts that share the same adherence and vague lo-fi sound to make this disc strong in cohesiveness and enjoyable to listen.

Top Track : Travels the World “A Right One”