(10/10) Compilations are never this good. At best, they are usually slight disjointed collections that can be separated into each individual artist's contribution and judged depending on which tracks you like or dislike. There is no such thing here; each song, though of course as unique as its creator, is equally as good as the others. None upstages another, in spite of their differences.
Yet those differences are far greater than most compilations can achieve. In order to repair the discohesiveness that one normally expects in an album with so many separate musicians, the compiler usually resorts to a certain forced mediocrity, where no song is allowed to deviate too much from the others lest it seem completely out of place. But this compilation is communism at its best; each individual is allowed to be individual and the whole album works better because of it.
One of my favorite things about this compilation is the unique samples in some of the songs. "In Between (Edit)" has the sounds of a hospital and breathing equipment, followed by breathing so close to your ear that you can almost feel the warmth of each breath. "Martin, Gracias Por la Guitarra" features the sound of someone writing or scribbling on a piece of paper. And the lecture that is central to DJ/Rupture's "Options," makes an intellectual examination of a subject most people feel more than think just a little more interesting.
I have a few favorites, of course. "Referencia [Early Version]" by Conduo Orchestra flirts with pop music just enough to get it stuck in your head for a week, but not so much that its soul feels cheap. Kama Aina does an amazing job of making music with water and only a few other instruments in "Cecilia Ros." Luis Maurette's "In Between (Edit)" does a more complete job of pulling you into the created world of the song than any other I've ever heard. And Det Svenska Folket's folky "Lang Ferd" warms me up instantly like drinking a cup of hot chocolate when I come in from a cold winter day.
But I love all of the other songs in their own ways too. Tuk's "German Holidays" almost seems like a re-interpretation of hair metal after the 2 minute mark, with its heavy drums and almost-cheesy composition, though it never crosses that line. Even the heavily deconstructed "Spring to Come" by Son of Clay finds itself a comfortable niche amongst its more traditionalistic neighbors.
If a more harmonious compilation ever comes across my path, I will be incredibly shocked. Every song deserves your attention and none try to steal it from each other. Most compilations are simply stepping stools to an artist's greater work; this compilation is an album in its own right. - Eden Hemming Rose, Foxy Digitals (USA) www.foxydigitalis.com

How do you get noticed when your compilation must compete for attention alongside so many others? Put Latex Pussy by German artist Boris Hoppek on the cover, for starters, and then ensure that the music accompanying it captivates too. Generally, that is the case on Rojo.Tachan.Nosordo, a 77-minute, fifteen-track co-operative venture (only two pieces previously released) from the Spanish magazine ROJO and the Nosordo label, primarily because it's a decidedly more folk-based collection than is the norm, with guitar the predominating instrument.
Some pieces hew to a drone style (the crackly violin loops of Kristine Barrett's "Marie Rosa" and the rippling haze of Gregg Kowalsky's "Egress Regret") while others favour a more traditional yet equally engaging approach; Conduo Orchestra's "Referencia" starts out as a static, glitchy setting of guitars and piano but gradually escalates into a swaying, trumpet-enhanced hoe-down. The bluesy slide melancholia of Det Svenska Folket's "Lang Ferd" is especially effective, as is Ljudbilden & Piloten's lovely "Martin, gracias por la guitarra," with its delicate guitar plucks sweetened by the soft touch of a melodica and caressed by horns. Contributions by Tuk (Belgian artist Guillaume Graux), Kama Aina, Gros, and Cineplexx (Sebastian Litmanovich) are all credible too.
Rojo.Tachan.Nosordo also includes abrasive settings (Son of Clay's eight-minute dissonant noisescape "Spring to Come" and Henrik Rylander's relentless tsunami of grinding bulldozer pulses, "Transmission of Mechanical Influences with Repetition and Happiness") which do add contrast but also sully the nuanced and understated ambiance cultivated by the other pieces. Argentinean artist Luis Maurette's "In Between (edit)," a hazy, industrial collage of breathing sounds and field elements, is more palatable but it too pales when heard alongside the eminently more musical "Martin, gracias por la guitarra." Despite such caveats, the collection offers more than its share of affecting moments.
- Textura (USA) www.textura.org