Delusions of Adequacy / 2002

Planting Seeds has put together a lovely compendium of great indie-pop artists on their latest sampler. You can get your copy just in time for summer when "bop bops" and handclaps do a lot to make the most of a pleasant day. The Virginia-based label has a diverse roster of artists that appear along with other label friends on the record, producing a wonderful pastiche of pop from every imaginable sub-genre. Starting off with a sugary-sweet love song, from Astropop 3's "Lost in a Dream," Dreaming Up the Perfect Pop remains upbeat and lovely throughout, despite some more somber songs such as Ashley Park's "Let's Go," which features strummy guitars and a chorus that croons, "it's summer-time and the race is on / yeah, it's summer-time and the race is won." This compilation is also the first time I've been exposed to Planting Seeds artist Xavier Pelleuf; his track "Wisconsin" is a wistful acoustic ode to love lost. Pelleuf's vocals are rich and haunting along the lines of Nick Drake. Returning to the cheer that the record started out with is the Kleenex Girl Wonder track "Reunited Airlines" that demands second-guessing by those critics that argued that the only good song Graham Smith would write is (the aptly titled) "Why I Write Such Good Songs." This jangle-pop gem is quickly followed up by the quirky psych-pop of The Echo Orbiter that falls somewhere between Of Montreal and The Essex Green with their song "August Landscape Green." The comp also contains gems from personal favorites such as Call and Response, Souvenir, The Mendoza Line, and Fonda as well as new favorites like the girly electro-pop Winterbrief (think early Bis but a bit less punky) and Michael Barrett (his track "Dreamer" is the essential modern throwback to bubblegum pop). If you're looking for an introduction to a quality pop label and an all-around great record then Dreaming Up the Perfect Pop is highly recommended. This album will be sure to bring you a smile even on a rainy day.

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