Various - HHBTM Vol 2 CD Compilation

by Darrell Angus

published: 17 / 12 / 2001

Label: Happy Birthday To Me
Format: CD

First things first. This compilation was put together by Mike Turner, who puts out an excellent fanzine entitled the Bees Knees which covers a wide range of indie pop and rock. Looks like he's branchi

Review

First things first. This compilation was put together by Mike Turner, who puts out an excellent fanzine entitled the Bees Knees which covers a wide range of indie pop and rock. Looks like he's branching out into the record label biz too. Unfortunately a lot of compilations can be hit or miss and only contain one or two good tracks. Luckily HHBTM Vol.2 is a great collection of lo-fi gems. Starting off the album is The Late B.P. Helium(who is also late of the band Elf Power) with a great organ driven ditty called 'They Broke The Speed of Light'. The Ross Beach song "Your Guitars" has excellent slide guitar work while maintaining a great pop sensibility. Seasick Crocodile provide a lovely acoustic romp thru an 'American Evening' while The Gerbils Scott Spillane provides one of the comps best tracks, 'Angel Wings Will Carry Me'.. Spillane's voice has got to be one of the most unique I've ever heard. Athens, Georgia's the Wee Turtles provide some great guitar work with their song '18's Out' and fellow Athenites Dixie Blood Mustaches 'Activate Ohm Tile' is an experimental sound collage which fits in quite nicely. Other bands include fablefactory, Echo Orbiter and My Place In Space. Not a rotten apple in the bunch. All in all, a fantastic 25 band collection of bedroom rockers which would appeal to fans of early Sebadoh or anything Elephant 6 related. Heres looking forward to Volume 3.