Various Artists - The Matinée Summer Splash!

  by Tommy Gunnarsson

published: 14 / 11 / 2002

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Review

Well, you might ask yourself, “a summer splash in wintertime? Isn’t that a bit odd?”. And yes, you’re right, but this compilation was actually released back when the flowers were in full bloom and you were able to take a swim in the ocean without turning blue. Then again, a good compilation is still a good compilation, even if the title don’t match the current season. The US-based label, Matinée Recordings, have blessed us with a lot of great records over the past few years, and with bands like the Lucksmiths, the Fairways and Pipas you can’t possibly go wrong. Add to that the new, splendid Razorcuts compilation… well, thank you label boss James Tassos! To introduce some of their latest additions to their ever growing roster of artists, they have released this low-price compilation, showcasing 12 of the great bands they are working with at the moment. Some of the bands here are already familiar to me, like the Would-Be-Goods (who released the fantastic 'The Camera Loves Me' many years ago), Airport Girl, Pipas and Sportique, but there are also some new acquaintances. Harper Lee is a name that was familiar to me, but I had oddly enough never got around to checking them out, even though the word on the street is that they’re good. I am closer to buying their new album, 'Everything’s Going To Be OK',now though after hearing, 'Fine Bones', the opening track on this compilation CD. It sounds a fair bit like Trembling Blue Stars, but that’s not a bad thing, right? Other unknown acts (at least for me) are Slipslide, whose contribution 'X Supplies The Answer' is quite good, even though the guitar hooks reminds me too much of Ocean Colour Scene, which is definitely a bad thing, and Melodie Group, a band that is a great surprise to me. Hammering drum-machines and handclaps always melt my heart, and 'I Do Not Love You' has a great tune as well. Their album 'Updownaround'on the evidence of this may be worth checking out. Sadly, the bands that I was already familiar with all do quite poorly here. The Pipas song,'Cruel and Unusual', is far from the best thing they have recorded, and Sportique’s 'Rollercoaster' is a quite weak song too. In my opinion, Sportique will never reach the same heights that its frontman Gregory Webster's previous band Razorcuts did. Sorry Gregory, I would imagine that you don’t want to be compared to your old band, but hey, I’m not alone doing so. It must be said though that the Would-Be-Goods song, 'Dilettante', which is taken from their latest album, Brief Lives, is a real pop gem though.

Track Listing:-

1 Harper Lee - Fine Bones
2 Would-Be-Goods - Dilettante
3 Airport Girl - When You Fall
4 Slipslide - X Supplies the Answer
5 Melodie Group - I Do Not Not Love You
6 Pipas - Cruel and Unusual
7 Sportique - Rollercoaster
8 The Windmills - Walking Around the World
9 The Liberty Ship - Don't React
10 The Pines - Leavin' On Your Mind
11 Lovejoy - You Fell From Grace
12 Kosmonaut - Was It You?

Label Links:-

http://matineerecordings.com/
https://www.facebook.com/matineerecord