various - thankyou for being you

For lovers of all things twee, this collection of searing (and sometimes swooning) pop music couldn’t come soon enough, especially considering we live in a time when the edgiest thing in the charts these days is bloody Maximo Park, who are about as edgy as runny cheese. Listening to Coldplay. Beginning with the fall out of post-punk, this scene combined the DIY element of that genre and combined it with a more melodic, sickly-sweet song writing style more associated with 1960’s Spector-produced pop. Bands started writing love songs again which was much more fun than writing about, say, industrial decline and urban decay (thanks anway, Gang of Four, Wire and Mark E Wossisname). Thus, ‘geekiness’ became the new ‘cool’, ‘happiness’ became the new ‘dour’, and ‘being nice to people’ became the new ‘beating the shit out of each other’. This was a time for the also-rans to rise up and be adored, a time for the weak to rule the world (sort of, albeit on a very small scale), and a time for the bullied to start fighting back. This resulted in some of the most interesting and diverse music to come out of Britain for over a decade to take centre stage, and become synonymous with quality, intelligence and grandiose. Glasgow-based Stow College, responsible for launching Belle and Sebastian’s career (it was the school’s own Electric Honey label that released their first album Tigermilk) have given us a thoughtful, if not brief, tour through a hugely complex genre which spanned the best part of two centuries. Whilst it’s difficult to fault their intentions, 12 tracks, clocking in at just over 38 minutes, really doesn’t do it much justice; it’s akin to being given a tour of the Taj Mahal on a speeding motorbike. Still, there’s plenty to satisfy the cardigan-wearing masses here. Expectedly, Belle and Sebastian feature, as do peel-favourites the Delgados, jerk-pop merchants Josef K and cult-favourites the Pastels, but there are also some delightfully unexpected turns in the form of The Nectarine No9 and Fire Engines. Late-comers How To Swim, who are the musical equivalent of someone turning up to an electrifying house party just as it’s all winding down, but insist on trying to keep it going by drinking what’s left of the vodka and keeping everyone awake, close the album in fine style with infectious ditty ‘Logical Man’, and it is at that moment that you realise that indiepop is far more innovative than it is often credited for. Fans of the genre will have heard most of the tracks anyway, so whilst its not exactly an inspiring compilation it’s a welcome stroll down memory lane nonetheless, back to a time when the word “indie” actually meant something and the spirit of C86 was very much alive. Scotland the brave, indeed.