Various Artists – Pets Sounds / Undulating Waters 10

Whilst streaming playlists have become somewhat of a leviathan bestriding the world of multi-artist showcasing and taste-making, there is still space for the defiantly valiant art of assembling thoughtful standalone compilations. Particularly when they are curated by gatekeepers from the DIY mix tape generation, who also have a Rolodex replete with choice contributors at their fingertips. Enter then, two collections vying for such attention from reliable and familiar sources.

The first in hand comes from the rudely healthy multi-age indie-pop enterprise of Skep Wax. Having previously rounded-up members from the extended Sarah Records family diaspora alongside fellow travellers for two essential volumes of their Under The Bridge anthology series, this time around Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey have taken an even more targeted thematic approach.

Thus, the punningly titled Pets Sounds bundles up fifteen tracks threaded with tales of cats, dogs and other furry animals, from those either directly signed to the label or loosely connected in some way. Whilst shorter on previously unreleased cuts compared to the undertakings of Under The Bridge, this set still spins out with plenty of repeat-airing friendliness.

Consequently, from Skep Wax’s in-house providers arrive top-drawer nuggets from the likes of Brian Bilston and The Catenary Wires (with the freshly pressed “Under A Cat”); The Cords (via a reprise of the stomping “Bo’s New Haircut”); Railcard (in the form of the newly-recorded twinkling “Foxy”); Special Friend (through the Yo La Tengo-meets-C86 blend of “Breakfast”); Sassihiya (in the shape of the communalist earworm that is “Crayon Potato”); and Swansea Sound (by way of the Gang Of Four-go-garage-pop “I Don’t Like Men In Uniform”).

From the outside guest suppliers there is also some high-grade material brought into the fold. This includes Lande Hekt’s radiant Elizabeth Fraser-fronts-Madder Rose bliss-out (“Lola”); Tugboat Captain’s wry Stanley Brinks-style shuffling (“Rufus”); Caleb Nicholas’s early-Elliott Smith lo-fi (“Dark Age”); Jetstream Pony’s chugging propulsions (the previously unheard “Grimalkin Tom”); The Burning Hell’s bleak but beatific baroque-folk storytelling (“Kings Of The Animal Kingdom”); and Oh Hippo’s soaring art-rock (“Orlando”).

Shrewdly sequenced with an affable flow, with wares that never individually stray beyond the leash of the overall remit in ungainly fashion, Pets Sounds is an unpretentiously charming go-to selection box for listeners with a shared fondness of domesticated creatures and inventive melodicism.

Contrastingly more wide-reaching in its sonic range and conceptually unyoked is Woodford Halse’s tenth and final compilation release. Although unveiled as part of the label’s closing down activities, Undulating Waters 10 is satisfyingly far from being a going-through-the-motions affair. In fact, this could be one of the most rounded and realised entries in the long-running series overall.

With a strong sense of an ending, this farewell assortment sums up the essence of Mat Handley‘s soon-to-be-missed operations by amassing a solidly representative spread of his dependable personal penchants and his ability to drawn in exclusive one-offs to match them.

Naturally, this means a weighty – but not overbearing – portion of material piped in from the home-brewed electronic scene that has conjoined frequently with the label over the eight or so years. Amidst such likeminded offerings we’re led to the dispersed delivery of mesmeric wordless Joy Division reimaginings from Hadley’s own amorphous Pulselovers project (“Dead Dog’s Island”); percussive discombobulations from Polypores (“Strange Teeth”); Field Lines Cartographer’s immersive cosmic ambience (“Eternal Depths”); and warm retro-futuristic wobbliness from The Twelve Hour Foundation (“Roissy 1977”).

Away from the well-stocked synth sculpting shelves in the Woodford Halse pantry, we’re bestowed with a broader span of produce. This translates into spoken-word post-punk minimalism (Paul Bareham’s “My Light Has Gone Out But I Still Work”); earthy rustic balladry (Ryan Shirlow’s “Half In Love / Blood Red Shoes” medley); and ethereal ‘80s 4AD-tinged Celtic pastoralism (Burd Ellen’s “Òran An Ròin”) being sprinkled across the first half of the compilation.

Through intervals in the second half of proceedings, we’re treated to gorgeous Popol Vuh-vibed electro-acoustic meshing (The Hologram People’s “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”); divine mid-period Cocteau Twins deconstructions from Alan Outram’s Soft Estate (“Without You”); and a rare hushed reappearance for James Brooks’s underrated electric guitar essaying under his Land Observations alias (“The Mill And The River”).

Although laced with the sadness from being part of Woodford Halse’s extended finale, Undulating Waters 10 is also a suitably subtle celebration of a quietly assured A&R adventure on the fringes that leaves a legacy pre-disposed towards future fond reappraisal.

-Adrian-