A worthwhile compilation
Allan MacInnis | Vancouver | 11/13/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This disc contains, for the most part, CARE and the related b-sides, so there's little (no?) material off discs like JAM SCIENCE (wasn't that also on Y?) or so forth. The songs are colder and less playful than material you might have heard on OIL AND GOLD and BIG NIGHT MUSIC (the two Shriekback discs I'm assuming people might have had exposure to). At times, it is much more daring. "Here comes my handclap" and other cuts seem to almost suggest a flirtation with avant-garde pop. Sometimes such flirtations are successful, sometimes they're tedious. A lot of it sounds more oriented towards some specific club scene, pre-industrial funky stuff for coolish artheads to strike poses to. For myself, about half the songs on the disc aren't interesting, but the ones that ARE (including a great instrumental version of "Lined Up") make it worth having. Gee, I wish someone would rerelease JAM SCIENCE on CD..."