Kompilation

text

Chicago's Kranky have without question been one of the most imporatant rock record labels to have emerged in the 90s. Their catalogue has embraced the entire spectrum of, erm, "post-rock", from Labradford's dark ambience through to Jessamine's ebullient psych-pop. For fans in the UK however, prohibitive import prices have made it a pricey outfit to follow, something for which this UK-released compilation tries to make up. Represented by one track each, almost the entire roster of the label is present (among them many artists whose latest work we've reviewed here on motion; yes - we love Kranky!): Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Jessica Bailiff, Pan American, Windy and Carl, Low, Stars Of The Lid, Philosophers Stone, Dissolve, Amp, Jessamine, Magnog, Roy Montgomery, Bowery Electric and Dadamah. (Missing for various legal and logistical reasons: Spiny Anteaters, Flies Inside the Sun, Doldrums and Labradford. For listeners unfamiliar with this label, or for those of you who know maybe a couple of their acts, or for anyone who hasn't yet caught on to the unexpected re-emergence of American rock music as a hotbed of intelligent, freewheelingly open-minded and restlessly experimental music... for all of these people, grab this compilation, it's essential.