Today marks the fifth anniversary of Fox Food Records, and to celebrate James Smith has gathered a large number of the label’s artists for a special compilation, Something’s There But You’re Not Sure What. Essentially a who’s who of the Fox Food roster, the release represents a celebration of what truly independent labels can offer—a diverse group of people from all over the world linked not by a specific sound and style but rather the spirit within.

Opening with an acoustic version of Oh Rose‘s ‘Prom’, Something’s There But You’re Not Sure What features a whole host of our favourites. Nice Legs stop by with another slice of delightfully warm fuzz pop, Spartan Jet-Plex provides an alternate take on single ‘Meant’ and Monarch Mtn returns with his characteristically intimate and melancholic whisper-folk.

Dana Gavanski joins Kaiya Cade on the haunting ‘Garden’, Fazed on a Pony serves up a dose of wonky nostalgia and Goodbye Max welcomes us back into his wistful warmth with the modest wonder of ‘Search Party.’ Then there’s the icy pop of Bloodhype, the whimsical momentum of Plant Food, not to mention the playful hush of Lewtrakimou and cool swagger of Saint Charles. Mixing things up, Henoheno and Fair Mothers offer different takes on patient, sprawling music—the ethereal gloom of the former matched in mood and scope by the foreboding creep of the latter.

Elsewhere, Unisex offer a carefree sway with ‘Let the Tide Take You’, Fairy Godmother a garage rock washed with dreamy haze and the likes of Ratbath, Hairpins, Suzy Jivotovski (of GRNDMS) and Deer Scout all provide stellar examples of intimate bedroom folk. Then, in a fitting finale, Smith’s own Good Good Blood teams up with Astral Social Club for mammoth closer ‘Heathen Astronaut’.

With ambient textures and electronic beeps and glimpses of sincere emotion peeking through the fog, the track acts as a kind of summary of the compilation and therefore the Fox Food Record’s mission as a whole. Heartfelt, experimental, bound not by expectation or convention but rather some gut-level intuition. Together, the elements coalesce into an intangible yet sustained sense of spirit, something far more powerful and lasting than anything done alone. This might not be something than can be adequately put into words, but that it exists is a testament to Smith’s judgement and effort. Because something is there, even if you’re not sure what.

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The compilation features end-to-end quality international lo-fi pop, capturing the multitude of styles and feelings present across the diverse genre. From the bummed out vibes of ‘Limit to Forgiveness’ by Viewfinder (from their great album Born Ticking), to the manic ‘O Positive’ from Sydney’s Sachet, the compilation veers all over the emotional spectrum. Shy Boys provide sweet pop, Molten Salt a fuzzy bliss, and Merce Lemon’s pet love song a hyperactive bounce that chases its own tail into a fantastic singalong chorus. In short, a box packed full of hidden gems that you would be silly not to reach into and grasp for a new favourite.

You can get Lost Songs & Other Favorites now, on cassette or name-your-price download from the Hidden Bay Records Bandcamp page.

Artwork by Manon Raupp

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The lineup is incredible, Ruination Record Co. managing to recruit lots and lots of bands and artists who we’ve loved (and featured) in the last few years. So if, like us, you’ve grown to love the experimental bedroom ambient of Lung Cycles, or the quietly infectious and odd pop of Trace Mountains, or the heart-on-sleeve bedroom pop of Tall Friend, then this is the charity compilation for you.

And that’s not to mention Ben Seretan or Wilder Maker, LVL Up or Will Stratton, Minor Moon or Adeline Hotel or Horse Teeth. I think you get the idea. And, not content to sit comfortably in one genre, there’s something for everyone here, even if every one of these bands is new to you. There are folk songs and electronic songs and straight up indie rock songs, sad ones and mad ones and kinda strange ones. For example, Obody’s ‘Something That You Are’ is warm and wheezing, the elegant baritone vocals reminiscent of Frederick Squire, while Strange Ranger transform ‘San Francisco Earthquake’ into an arrestingly lo-fi acoustic track.

It feels like a big pick ‘n mix bag of sweets, you have no idea of what you’re going to get next, just that it’s sure to be tasty. From the country stomp of Leland Sundries to the Keaton Henson-style delicacy of Big Eater, Ben Brock Wilkes’s intricately captivating guitar-based folk to the manic punk rock of Gymshorts, each track is is solid and holds its own amongst the others. Perhaps most interesting is the array of singer-songwriters on show, each of whom craft a bold or heartfelt story in their own way, such as this gem by Bea Troxel.

There are so many reasons to buy this album. First of all, 48 great songs for just ten dollars is nothing short of a steal. The artists we’re not familiar with just serve to highlight the diversity on show, and make us want to spend an entire week checking out back catalogues. And of course, most importantly, you’ll be supporting a really, really good cause. So what are you waiting for?

So Many Singing is out now and you can get it from the Ruination Record Co. Bandcamp page.

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Spurred by Trump’s election, Brian Cassidy of Wren & Shark Record Collective decided to do what little he could to push us a few precious inches in the right direction. Enlisting the help of a rather impressive array of talented friends, he has assembled a compilation to be sold in support the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC,) one of the US’s leading environmental non-profit organisations. The album comes complete with artwork by John Sabraw, an environmental artist and activist who uses pigments from polluted streams to create his ‘toxic art’ (which you can find out about here). Check out the full tracklisting below:

1. Jonathan Meiburg (of Shearwater) – Reincarnation
2.Will Courtney – I Got Your Back
3. Will Johnson – Nervousness Fangs
4. Mikaela Davis – Pure Divine Love
5. S. Carey – Shiny Shoes (The Pines cover)
6. The Eastern Sea – The Entertainer
7. Reservations – Planet
8. Lowland Hum – We’re All Waiting
9. Brian S. Cassidy – Darkest Doubt
10. Black Before Red – Envy
11. Good Field – Surface Tension
12. Nori – The Garden

With the likes of Will Johnson, S. Carey and Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg involved, the release also serves as a timely reminder of the effectiveness of generosity and collaboration, a example of our only way forward – grouping together our talents and energies into something larger and more powerful than any one individual. Trump and his ilk are going to try to convince us that the environment doesn’t matter, that art doesn’t matter, that people of certain colours and genders and backgrounds don’t matter. It’s up to us, not only to resist, but to prove him wrong.

Wren & Shark & Friends is out today and you can grab your copy from the Wren & Shark Bandcamp page for as little as $10, though remember that all profits go direct to the NRDC.

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Take for example Friends For Equality, the benefit compilation in support of Southern Poverty Law Center, ACLU and Planned Parenthood put together by Nancy Kells and Fox Food Records. Collecting the talents of 42 acts, the release features a diverse range of unreleased tracks from all over the world, including WTD favs such as Henry Demos, Henoheno, PAT MOON, Rainwater, Francie Cool, Lewtrakimou, Slumbers and Monarch Mtn, not to mention songs from the creators themselves in the form of Spartan Jet-Plex and Good Good Blood. As you might expect, it’s also a great way to discover new artists, and while there are too many to write about properly, there’s enough variation in style and genre to ensure every music fan will find something to their liking.

Not content with the compilation, Nancy is organising a benefit show at Strange Matter in Richmond, VA on the 17th February, and working to put together a zine for which the theme is “social justice/civil rights – so anything related to that – drawings, photographs, comics, editorials, poetry, short story, etc.” Submissions are currently open until the 2nd January, so email spartanjetplex@gmail.com if you want to participate or help in any way.

You can buy Friends For Equality now via Bandcamp, and be sure to remember that the $5 price tag is a minimum suggestion (and impossibly generous for 42 tracks). Equally, if you don’t have cash to spare, you can help by spreading the word or getting involved (just contact Spartan Jet-Plex via the email address provided above).

Artwork by Ryan McCardle

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STAY RAD SAV is a compilation of the best and brightest Savannah has to offer, curated by Furious Hooves and fellow label Soft Science. With no limitations in terms of genre or theme, the collection pushes in all directions, from noisy punk and slick slacker pop to gentle ambient swells and peculiar electronic experiments. Presented in collaboration with Soft Science, the compilation is split across two tapes and comes in a VHS-style trimpack, hand-numbered and limited to 200, complete with a 20 page zine featuring art/interviews from art collectives Fist City and The Clambake. Even the colours of the tapes sound special (rhodamine and goldenrod… I mean, right?).

With thirty varied and distinctive acts on show, you’ll excuse us for not writing a track-by-track breakdown. Instead, we suggest you buy a tape go digging for your own gems. Here are some of our current favourites:

You can buy STAY RAD SAV now from the Furious Hooves Bandcamp page.

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The compilation is out now and you can grab a copy via the No Dice Tapes Bandcamp page, or get a download on a pay-what-you-can basis (but it’s for a good cause, remember?).

Artwork by Annabel Amin

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“This is a small thing but I thought it’d be nice to get a few unreleased/rare songs together from Audio Antihero and friends to try and raise a little bit of money for Bernie’s presidential campaign. If you’d like to chip in to give Americans some universal healthcare that’d be great. Win or lose, every penny keeps them in the fight and helps hold the DNC accountable to liberal voters.”

Now we’re not American but even we are feeling the Bern. If you prefer your world leaders fair and honest then he seems like a pretty good option. To be honest, I’m not sure how he passed the politics entry exam after ticking the boxes for common sense and empathy. And of course, it’s worth remembering that the alternatives are pretty dire – the majority of Americans deserve a lot better than idiotic bigots, crazy businessmen and power-hungry career politicians. If you need further proof that Bernie seems like a great guy, check out this collage of his speeches from the last 30 years:

Anyway, the music! Bern Yr Idols is packed full of rare/unreleased tracks from the Audio Antihero cohort, including numbers from Frog, Benjamin Shaw and Cloud. Basically it’s great. What better way to get your mitts on some great music than helping Bernie do something great?

You can buy Bern Yr Idols from the Audio Antihero Bandcamp page and help fight the good fight. If, for some strange reason, you would like to donate without getting cool music, you can do so directly right here.

Artwork by Benjamin Shaw

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“The cassettes have been emptied of their disgusting post-war shmaltz, and are now full to the brim with the best contemporary underground pop music attainable”

To whet your appetite, they have unveiled a track from 18 year-old one-man-band Zebrafi. ‘Bad Vibes’ takes after Pavement and Kurt Vile, the vocals flat and cool and the instrumentation prone to bursts of noise. Have a listen below:

You can pre-order Sentimental Journey from the Memorials of Distinction Bandcamp page.

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Luckily for us, Lauren Rearick from The Grey Estates seems out to disprove the Bad Winners/Good Losers notion. After fighting through the formidable gauntlet of macho vanity and arrogance that makes up the music industry (see also: college, school, life), she has made her blog into one of the best, most consistent sites covering independent music right now. Mirroring her own attitude, she covers music made out of necessity, bands fighting a multitude of prejudistic blindspots because to not-fight is not an option. It might not be overtly militaristic or political, but the very act of persevering in the effort to create/promote such music is a strong statement. This sort of quiet commitment might be often overlooked but the importance of recognising and celebrating it cannot be underestimated. As if to mark her achievement and symbolise what it stands for, Rearick has teamed up with Negative Fun Records to put out Sugar Rush, a compilation of covers featuring female and gender-neutral musicians. The aim of the album is simple – to try to address the balance (or lack thereof) represented in contemporary music. As she explains:

“A glance at festival lineups, year-end lists and favorite bands are often missing a huge ingredient – female and gender-neutral acts. Sugar Rush was spurred by the idea of giving these individuals a voice, and introducing listeners to their sounds in a most unique way – with cover songs.”

Sugar Rush features contributions from some WTD favs, including Boosegumps, PONY and Kississippi, as well as a whole host of bands and artists that we’re unfamiliar with, just waiting to be explored. Claire Morales and Jena Pyle kick things off with a saccharine rendition of Pasty Cline’s ‘Strange’, the heartbreak flowing thick as molasses, while Kississippi’s cover of Sixpence None the Richer’s ‘Kiss Me’ is minimal and spacious, dreamy as a lovestruck gaze. Boosegumps reinvents Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Everywhere’ as a pretty and understatedly resplendent bedroom pop song and Seattle-based dream pop band Sundae Crush provide a quietly sweet take on ‘Unpretty’ by TLC.

The B side sees a change of mood, as Rearick puts it:

“We thought of the A-side as the sugar-y side, the sweet candy you enjoy before the B-side, when all that sugar begins rushing through your veins, leaving you ready to dance, party and load up on more sugary goodness.”

PONY begin the transition into upbeat danciness, updating Blink 182’s ‘Feelin This’ into a sharp and dynamic shoegazey pop song, before Susan take on The Violent Femmes’ ‘I Held Her In My Arms’, stumbling across a verse which could be used to sum up the compilation as a whole: “I will not kill /  the one thing I love / In this world of wreckage, I look above / Help me, Lord, help me understand / What it means to be a boy and what it means to be a man”. Next, Pearl Earl offer a brash take on Devo, Mommy Long Legs bring their familiar energy to The Cramps and Alright race through a Bouncing Souls number. The penultimate track sees Philadelphia’s The Pretty Greens cover Lucille Mathis’ ‘(I’m Not Your) Regular Woman’, before Daddy Issues finish on a cool, dreamy version of ‘Riot Grrrl’ by Keel Her.

It’s likely there was no small amount of anxiety, doubt and stress involved in the making of Sugar Rush and The Grey Estates as a whole, so it’s no exaggeration to consider the whole time-draining, energy-sapping endeavour a noble quest indeed. While nobody is naive enough to think that one compilation and a dozen artists will ever be enough to win the big fight, it’s just possible that an accumulation of such small victories could eventually build into the coup de grâce for this discriminatory industry. So, if you are in a position to strike a blow of any size but need some reassurance and motivation, take a look at Rearick and then rush head-on into an attack of your own. Because make no mistake, a fight this certainly is.

Sugar Rush is out today (the 29th February) and you can buy it now via Negative Fun Records’ Bandcamp. If you need further convincing, the good people over at The Le Sigh are streaming it in full.

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