Various - A Brilliant Escape

by Andy Cassidy

published: 18 / 9 / 2013

Label: The Beautiful Music
Format: CD

Superb eighteen track free download compilation sampler from Ottawa-based label This Beautiful Music, which includes artists such as Dot Dash, Roy Moller and the Model Spy

Review

The Beautiful Music have taken a rather unusual, and, I would say, rewarding, step with their latest sampler. Of the eighteen tracks, only five have been previously available on the label’s releases, and there is a genuine sense of wonder when the CD skips from track to track to see what gem is going to be uncovered next. I have to say, when it comes to compilation albums like this, I’m a sucker for cover versions, and so when I heard the Yellow Melodies’ version of the BMX Bandits’ ‘Your Class’ and Mark Crozer & The Rels’ version of ‘The Winner Takes it All’, I was in heaven. But, lurking between the covers, as they say, there was more than enough to keep me entertained as I listened on a wet Monday evening. Opening track’ ‘Chinaski’ by the Model Spy is a catchy instrumental which put me in mind of the Sundays. The Greek outfit have previously featured on TBM’s Television Personalities tribute series, but this is the first time that I had heard their own material and I was pretty impressed. Like so many of these samplers, I found that ‘A Brilliant Escape’ left me with a “to buy” list as long as my arm. To me, that’s no bad thing, but my wife would disagree. Of the eighteen tracks, I was probably most impressed by, well, most of them, to be honest. Dot Dash’s ‘Writing on the Wall‘ is an energetic burst of edgy pop, while Skytone’s ‘The Summer that Never Ends’ is a slice of sunshine that sounds like Dexys channelled through Vampire Weekend via the Monkees. There isn’t a bad song on the collection, but I was particularly impressed by ‘She Lives for the Moment’ by Pretty Eyes for Captain America and Roy Moller’s ‘Hidden Realms’. ‘She Lives for the Moment’ is a cover of a little known Television Personalities song. It’s pretty ballad which bursts into life around the ninety second mark, flooding the track with feedback and gristle and will fit perfectly on TBM’s forthcoming fourth volume of TVP tributes. Roy Moller is well known around these parts, but ‘Hidden Realms’ is a track which I hadn’t previously heard. It’s unlike much of Roy’s previous material, but the usual Moller hallmarks of eccentricity and brilliance are present in abundance. Considering that this is a free download from TBM’s website, it should pretty much recommend itself. Uunlike many samplers, the sheer quality and variety of the material, however, makes it indispensable to completists and casual listeners alike.