tb(tm)o 18, received some
fine reviews. The comp features artists from around the world but the majority
of artists are from the Philadelphia region.
"This compilation joins the
luminous ranks of great collections of music that become, in their own
right, great albums."
-Konketsu review
http://www.konketsu.com/reviews/+b+mo/cd-r_comp_2.2k/
"The finest comp I've heard
this year, no question." -Printed Circuit discography
http://www.catmobile.co.uk/printedcircuit/2.html
Underpop review at http://www.catmobile.co.uk/underpop/
Electronic music rolls on,
collecting more shiny new projects and labels and anti-celebrities along
the way. TB?O are, along with Fuzzybox, Darla, Blackbean & Placenta
and suchlike, forcing out this confusingly infectious music with frightening
regularity. Out of all these label TB?O are surely the most erratic, happily
mixing the frustrating anonymity of the music with an obsessive DIY-style.
This CDR complilation also shows their willingness to offer artists trying
something a little more adventurous than most, so although most of the
names aren't so instantly recognisable the sound each makes definitely
makes an impression. Like Mandorris, who's song 'Key Grip' mixes edgy percussion
with a bizarre harpsichord melody, Collette Carter's 'All The Colours Of
The Rainbow' is lovely exercise in contrast, starting with shimmering loops
and a barely structured rhythm before it switches into lush, sumptuous,
flowing section driven almost completely by the excellent vocals. There's
also Mall's trippy but still threatening ambience, Pacifica's brilliantly
mix-and-match, assured rhythm and sound, Accelera Deck's track 'Science
(Core Version)' flops and bops with a gracefully clunky beat amidst plenty
of deliberate CD-skipping effects. James Figurine's 'Before I Go' is delicate
and brittle, James' plaintive vocals on top of a melacholy melody, easily
the closest it gets on the CDR to a 'song' in the traditional sense, there's
more a sense to take things on at a more sideways angle, like with the
itchy atonal 'R2' by Ray Sweeten w/ Oliver Grimm, or on Flowchart's 'Jammin'
On Tha One' that appears to have used samples of sandpaper together with
the noise your computer makes when it's unhappy. This all blurs away when
the main melody appears in the form of a warm hammond, it mixes with all
the abrasive company and the contrast is brilliant. TB?O have filled up
the CDR from start to finish, there's no unused extra space on here, and
within it's lengthy duration it spans many elements, takes you by the scruff
of the neck and lulls you into a sense of warm security. It's a compilation
that doesn't sound compiled, rather it fits together like lego-blocks.
All the artists stand out on their own, wear their inventiveness on their
sleeves, as well as acommodating and complementing the other artists. It's
a rare and special record to have that quality. (UNDERPOP)
