01 - The Love Letter Band - This World Is Not My HomeIt sounds somewhat more polished than C86; perhaps because technology has moved on to the point where sounding lo-fi is an aesthetic choice rather than a technological limitation. Most of the songs on this compilation are electric-guitar-based, and fall into the broad "indie-pop" tradition, sounding not unlike a 7" single recorded in the north of Britain in 1988 or so, or possibly like a more polished version thereof. The Apple Orchard and Celestial sound like lesser-known Sarah Records bands, and A Place To Bury Strangers start off like a more lo-fi My Bloody Valentine, or perhaps Secret Shine, while Sarandon do their best impression of the skronkyness on the original C86. Meanwhile, the Love Letter Band have gone a lot more folky/countryish since I last heard them ("Even The Pretty Girls Take Medicine").
02 - Mon Fio - Alexis
03 - Apple Orchard - A Hiding Smile
04 - Celestial - Dream On
05 - Santa Dog - Rosa
06 - Umlaut - Lea Green
07 - A Place To Bury Strangers - Dont Think Lover
08 - Chuzzlewit - Verga
09 - Loveninjas - Keep Your Love
10 - Rocket Punch - Pink Cashmere
11 - Shrugged - Tattooed Heart
12 - Crumb - Follow Me Home
13 - Pelle Carlberg - Clever Girls
14 - Compute - Every Chance
15 - Bib - I Wanna Be A Better
16 - Bobby Baby - Lucky Moments
17 - Goof - Dancing Shoes
18 - Sarandon - Meet Warren
19 - Bubblegum Lemonade - Tyler
20 - Michael Knight - Waves To The Shore
21 - The Sweethearts - Into The Woods
22 - The Factory Owners - Elephants Mean Death
23 - Cowboy X - Gabbi
24 - Math And Physics Club - Movie Ending Romance
The compilation isn't all neo-C86 jangle-pop traditionalism; towards the end, it makes a concession to it being 2006, as the jangly-guitar/bass/handclaps formula gives way to more contemporary electronic sounds, with artists such as Compute and Bib combining synthpop sequencers with indie-pop sounds; meanwhile, Bobby Baby bringing a rather nice piece of understated folktronica to the project, and Cowboy X contributes some crunchy electro-pop not a world away from Ladytron or someone.
I confess to only knowing about a third of those bands. I have my work cut out for me.
Oh, and acb, a Bloke of My Aquaintance just made a brand new indie music blog and the first post is about C86. Thought you might be interested:
http://fireescapetalking.blogspot.com/