Losing Today (UK)

The great thing about compilations is, if of course if they strike the right balance, they allow you to cherry pick the best bits. If the compiler has surpassed their duties of providing the right balance and has been conscientious enough they'd have done the cherry picking for you, leaving you to giving amiss to the tedium of searching through truckloads of 7" singles in the local record emporium hoping that you've picked the right ones only to get home and within 30 minutes realise why there were so many copies of each of them crammed at the front of the pile all attractively priced. 'Dreaming up the perfect pop' is aptly titled, providing a chance to window shop 21 of the sweetest sounds around at the moment. Some names may be familiar, some ought to be household favourites shortly, all have in common their immense sense of melodic pop direction. Dipping into the collective array of fledging D.I.Y. labels for it's source material, fellow purveyors of pop featured here are Shelflife, Kindercore, Emperor Norton and Badman to name just four, 'Dreaming of the perfect pop' is indebted to classic indie labels of yore such as Sarah, Bus Stop and Summershine.

Talking of cherry picking as we were, it seems to me a trite unfair that we single out a few selected tracks as they all, in their own special way, are minor classic cuts that is if you like your pop either jangly, sentimental, sophisticated, honest and above all summery sounding, so here goes….. Okay as previously advertised 21 acts, 21 songs kicking off with the delicious perky pop of Astropop and 'Lost in a dream' taken from their debut Planting Seeds E.P. of 2001. Then along comes Marykate O'Neil who on the evidence of 'Mundane dream' should be around for a fair while yet, serving as it does a heavenly mix of the Bangles and Katrina and the Waves set to some of the most breathtaking vocals that you could easily fall in love with. Ashley Park really oughtn't need introduction, the mere fact that he isn't a universal star yet is one of great mysteries'Let's go' is a potent cocktail of Baccarach classicism and sublime sophistication. One of my personal favourites is 'Wisconsin' by Xavier Pelleuf the sound of countrified pop, capturing the faraway elegance of the mighty Moviola in their stride. Shed a tear through the melancholic daydream pastiche created by the Dupont Circles on the awesome 'Heaven Holler' another band that may be worth keeping an eye out for in the future.

Kleenex girl wonder offer up 'Reunited airlines' a fizzing crooked pastiche of power pop that at times veers towards Blur territories. Goof laden antics are the order of the day for the Echo Orbiter who provide a welcoming arm to their hallucogenic dream trip that sees elements of early Floyd getting jiggy with it with classic Small Faces, and in the process provide ample proof indeed that their brand of goonish surrealism will be around for many a year yet. Call and response are another name well worth making a note of, they muster up some superb Francophile twee pop that curiously metamorphs into an exhilarating far Eastern collage. Gorgeous 60's frills injected with some unreal stuttered chord progressions on the sub three-minute effervescent pop 'Summer won't ask you twice' by The Heavy Blinkers. If you love slide guitars then 'Je tiens ma parole' by the sensual sounding Souvenir offers up some of the best around period, enrichened all the more by the irresistible vocals of Patricia de la Fuente. Typically delivering the expected unexpected and giving Clock Strikes 13 a run for their money in the great 60's Byrds soundalike content are the ever-crucial Essex Green with 'Everything is green', while if your tastes are slightly more left of centre then the thought of Cyndi Lauper fronting the Go Go's covering the back catalogue of Belly will certainly be rewarded with the storming pop punch of Paula Kelley's 'All request hour' which I have to admit in my humbled opinion is the best track present throughout.

The Snow Fairies are next on the catwalk with some delirious moments of zig zagging melodies on 'the lonely cartographer' that have a tendency to swirl around prettily and bite your backside when your not paying attention. Winterbrief are quickly becoming regular featured artists on the hi-fi of late, often dubbed as the future generation White Stripes, 'Suburban Summer' sees them less frenetically charged as usual, but emitting enough head swerving dynamics to make you swoon at it all in blissful disbelief. The Mockers produced by Mitch Easter captivate with the swooning 'Sunflowers' that reels and shakes like the Teenage Fanclub with the Beach Boys songbook tucked under their arms. The Mendoza Line on the other hand whip up a frenzied mix of early Elvis Costello and the Attractions meets the Velvet Crush on the way to the Saturday drive in.

Next up for inspection is the singularly clever song writing of Michael Barrett, 'Dreamer' crisply trips along with such sunny finesse and simplicity that you just want to wrap your arms around the whole thing. Fonda stir up the exquisite sounding 'Summer land' featuring the clipped Byrds-esque 60's guitars patterns all curled up against Emily Cooke's love lorn vocals, very Primitives. The Maybellines, whose new album has been wowing the hi-fi of late crash in with the delightfully sounding 'Watermelon', a scant and furious delivery of priceless perky pop that has a taste of the Darling Buds about it. UK based Dakota Suite have already been responsible for a few well aimed releases and 'The colour of water' follows likewise. A laid back trumpet fuelled sitting in the shade away from it all moment, that wraps Clive Langer like solace with some enjoyable trip filled jamming . Last and by no means least are duo Capsela and their lo-fi guitars and keyboard composition 'A little company', sweet with 60's harmonies and gently timid to boot. A must have purchase for all those daydream pop believers among you.

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