Customer Reviews

Label Sampler 2009

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I won't hide my bias for the greatness of Talbot Tagora. They are the highlight in this sampler. If you like or liked adventurous underground/college rock groups from the 90s such as Thinking Fellers Union Local 282, 3Ds, Trumans Water, Sonic Youth, Rrope, and more, you certainly should give these guys a listen. Their album from this year Lessons In The Woods Or A City is a must-have.

Maybe it's a generational thing, but I don't know what the negative reviews are about; this is a terrific mix and I would pay for it if it weren't free. Check it out, you won't be sorry!

First of all, it's free. Second (and just as important) it's good! I listened to it distractedly, assuming it would be mediocre at best, but instantly found myself googling the bands and wanting to hear more. It's a well-compiled sampler, and the first 4 tracks especially have a good hook and beat. It's free--get it!

Sometimes you just take a chance. Sometimes, based on a little snipped of a song, you think, "I could grow to LOVE that song." If you're looking for a sure thing, I hear Brittney is due to put out another album. If you want to explore the nooks and crannies of what a few people obviously love to do, then go ahead and take a listen or three.

I'll be upfront and say that I'm music-illiterate. I'll also post my notes for each song below so you can say that I REALLY mean I'm music-illiterate.

There were songs I'd like to listen to again, things I found interesting on a close listen, things that soothed my tired brain. But my music library is clogged with free sample downloads, and you can definitely do better than this sampler if your tastes run anything like mine.

I'd wait to see what this label has to offer in the future, because I do feel like there's potential here. I also think that, as another reviewer wrote, some of these songs could grow on me if I let them and take a place among my favorites.

Hands--The best kind of rough, that can hook itself into your brain after a couple of listens.

Forgive Me--Has a kinda dreamy intensity but not one of my favorites--too monotonous.

Changing--intriguing use of vocals; near the end instruments take over in a way that can be jarring but, if you like that kinda thing, helps the song progress for the other parts to mean something more

There Are Too Many Birds--wish I could make out the lyrics to soft, whispery female vocals

Reservoir Park--I hate it. Folk ballad driven by bad-sounding vocals. A little too sing-songy and rough. There's hand clapping.

Tora Tora Tora--fails to redeem the album for the last song. A sharp change from the last track in side--a bit of a geeky bare bones indie pop song that just fails to be interesting at all.

Ichthus Hop--distorted stridently spoken vocals near-constant in this song contribute a lot of inaccessibility.

we are gods! we are wolves!--I'll listen to this again. Really a pleasure to my ears, but I don't know how to describe it.

summer cutting kale--Ditto. The vocals driving this are kinda a monotonous whiny male folk singer voice, but they draw me in instead of putting me off like that usually would, so see for yourself.

Hideaway Tokyo--Simple, but listenable. A bit more aggressive than previous offerings.

Perception Stick--Listening to this, I'd start getting disappointed partway through and then something would happen that I loved.

Back To Me--I see a collage of papers of different textures and in different condition listening to this because there's kinda staticky vocals underneath a simple repetitive but clear and round-sounding instrument (I think it's a guitar).

Keep Her On The Line--Pleasant enough, just not sure why you'd listen to it. But it's growing on me. It has a smoother sound than other selections on this sampler and doesn't seem to have some of the more experimental elements that I think some of the other songs have, but bear in mind I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Poor Old Ra--Thumbs up for the lyrics, and the presentation spotlights them. Clever dark cultural humor.

Magic Mtn--I'm just bored at this point in the album, and the song starts out slow which doesn't help. And it doesn't seem to be getting much faster. I think it'd be better without any vocals.

Hardly Art has been putting out solid releases ever since they got started in late 2007/early 2008. Support these young and upcoming artists by checking out this free sampler. Pretty & Nice's "Get Young" album from late 2008 was one of my top albums of last year, and the song included on that LP and this sampler is pretty much indicative of how great they are. Get this now!

This definitely worth a listen.

Like all label samplers, this is of mixed quality. There are some bands on this that I liked a lot, and others... not so much. However, what sets this sampler apart from others how they arranged the songs.

Most samplers are just a collection of the singles the label has ready that year, arranged in no discernable order. This can lead to some jarring juxtapositions. To me, samplers often feel like I am listening to a radio station that has a newbie dj. On the other hand, Hardly Arts (an indie label based in Seattle) presents two songs from each band. The sampler is symmetrical; every artist has song in the first half and in the last half. So when I listened all the way through, I became happy when I got to hear a band that I liked in the first half again. This arrangement makes the sampler actually feel like and experience, an album. When the sampler ended with a live track of two of the preceding bands playing together, this became something more than a typical sampler.

I am thankful that Hardly Arts released this on amazon. I was introduced to a lot of good bands, and I am definitely going to follow Pica Beats from now on as well as a few others. Based on the quality of the songs I would give the album an average of 3.5 or 4 starts (it is overall above average with some gems). But given the obvious thoughtfulness of the label and the fact that is a free download, I am giving it five stars.

A mix of music that might push your boundaries a little. New experiences are good, and frankly, listening to some free music won't hurt you. The first track, 'Hands', is wonderful; thoughtful, hypnotic and plaintive. Enjoy.

The best song in this album is easily Tora Tora Tora to me. Just containing this song makes the album a 4 star and worth the download. Some of the songs are very interesting though.

Well, I checked it out. I gave it a listen or three and I'm sad to say I'm sorry I did. I'm very thankful that Amazon (and the respective labels) gives us these free samplers. It gives me a chance to try out some new artists (well, new to me anyway) whom I wouldn't have heard of otherwise. Occasionally, I've struck gold and I go back to buy an artists album. I'm sad to say that this time, I had no such luck. I didn't like a single tune on this sampler. I guess you can't win 'em all. Maybe you'll find something you like. I hope you do. Thanks for providing it though, Amazon. I truly appreciate it!