I made the mistake of reading this allmusic review before I put the record on. Consequently my listening was filtered through that lens. I don't have much to add to the comments there, which conclude, "This is about as good as a 10" can possibly be." A little generous, perhaps, but not far off the mark.
The reason I'm so easily swayed is that, apart from North School Drive (which I have as a download from another compilation album), I doubt I've heard these tracks more than once. I picked up the record from the merchandise stall at The Clientele's gig at The Spitz on 9th November 2006 — the first time we'd seen them as a four-piece.
I love the idea of bands doing these extra-curricular excursions that sit outside their main catalogue. It suits The Clientele particularly well, as the marginalia here — the two tracks that aren't songs — provide a kind of 'ground' that sets off the 'figure' of the main body of their work.
Another think I like is having releases by my favourite acts that I hold in reserve for occasional listening.
My copy is the UK release on Earworm Records, which seems now to be defunct. I hadn't heard of them before, but their discography looks pretty fine.
 MusicBrainz entry for this albumWikipedia entry for this album Rate Your Music entry for this album Some metadata about this album at Last.fm |
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