Various Artists
PDX Pop Now! 2009
Rating: 2.5/5.0
Label: PDX Pop Now
We all know compilations are tricky things. Everyone has come across the billions of No Alternative and DGC Rarities Vol. 1 corpses in the bargain bins of record stores and thrift shops across the country. Usually you're tricked into buying the damn things because it's for a good cause and, hey, at least there's that one exclusive track that won't be showing up on an odds and sods album from your favorite artist for at least a couple years. So, yeah, for a lot of you it won't come as a shock to hear that this year's PDX Pop Now! entry is not great, but listen: this series honestly used to be vital, I swear.
In previous years, PPN could be counted on to not only display interesting experiments by known artists (The Shins, Sleater-Kinney, The Decemberists) but to also showcase promising new acts (Starfucker, Glass Candy, Panther); this time around, the known entities are limited to The Thermals (who honestly have probably been on every Portland compilation ever, anyway), M. Ward and Mirah. More disappointing is the lack of artists that sound like potential breakouts, those now replaced by a few tired-sounding hip-hop entries and more Joanna Newsom imitators than one would have thought existed in the world, let alone one city.
Things start off decently, with the hummable, Thee Oh Sees-channeling Mint Chicks; they offer a slice of tried and true garage rock that doesn't blow any minds but at least packs some oomph that the rest of the album sorely lacks. Things don't pick up again until The Thermals chime in almost 10 tracks later with "You Dissolve," a song you can already find on their excellent new album Now We Can See. Shortly thereafter Chilly Willy give you a glimpse of what Crystal Castles might sound like if they weren't on a constant coke binge and The Ravishers explore territory that Viva Voce have already wholly excavated on both prior PDX Pop Now compilations and their own albums.
It appears that the theme this year is to be as unenthusiastic and bland as possible. None of the songs here are really all that new or interesting, and nothing stands out from the already overpopulated indie scene or even from Portland's particular branch. Occasionally there are hints that Portland is still a thriving community, like the Liquid Liquid-cribbing Explode Into Colors tryout on "Paper (Hot Sax Version)," but overwhelmingly the feeling of this compilation is one of being cheated. The most entertainment to be found on this volume, quite frankly, is a cursory examination of the band names. Witness such classics as Chilly Willy! Dykeritz! What's Up?! And my personal favorite, the whimsical Cootie Platoon!
Yes, PDX Pop Now is a bargain at $8 for two discs and it helps bolster a community that is usually vibrant and exciting. But where once the PDX Pop Now label was one you could trust your money with, it now seems like the well has run dry.
by Morgan Davis