Various Acts - '12002xu' (12xu)
1/5
By: Toby L
The exact on-goings of new label 12XU seem ever so slightly shady at present, the company allegedly formed by a coalition of characters that had previously been responsible for 'running some of America's finest record companies into the ground.' Ignore the politics, though, and the real delight to be found is the music itself, somewhat refreshingly, in a time where spin and imagery is key over content and talent.
The Steve Albini-produced master strokes of Silkworm's 'A Cockfight Of Feelings' kick-start proceedings, the band's 'softly now' pleads making for a entrancing contrast to the soon-advancing 'Someone Something' by Texan alt-act, Spoon, who showcase the rare fusion of a piano hammering amidst particularly chipper drums and astute vocals.
The lo-fi Sally Crewe & The Sudden Moves follows with 'Forget It', which chooses to sound much like Beck's 'Lord Only Knows' from the singer's seminal 'Odelay' LP, albeit with less theatrics and even more gentle charm; and, with the compilation-EP closing with multi-instrumentalist Chris Brokaw, the man behind guitar on work by Evan Dando and Pullman, and the melancholy of Joel RL Phelps & The Downer Trio's 'Now You Are Found (1962-1999)', what the artists may lack in get-up-and-go energy, they make up for in competent musicianship and off-the-beaten-track song-arrangements.
A collection that you'd do best to feature prominently in your collection than without, may 12XU long continue their brandishing around of distinctive artists with something different to say; but, let's just hope that this time the people behind the enterprise don't allow the imprint to run into a similar fate as their doomed, past endeavours.
Artists in this article: Various Acts
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