Various Artists: Labrador

Labrador 100, A Complete History of Popular Music

[Labrador; 2007]

Styles: twee cool, man?
Others: Belle & Sebastian, Saint Etienne, Field Mice, The Pastels, Camera Obscura, Orange Juice, Felt

Comin’ the fuck up as a youngsta, I didn’t really respect fans of wee little twee. In fact, I thought people who based their indie identities on such weaklings didn’t, to paraphrase Tracyanne Campbell, know their elbows from their asses. Years later there’s still a part of me that sneers at the flatter pancakes of the batch, but I can’t refute the Rule of Genre Exploration: If you delve deep enough, you’ll find gold. Or at least silver. Labrador 100 is the strongest twomp (twee compilation) I’ve heard, but it still reveals almost as many embarrassing tracks as meritorious ones. The sequencing doesn’t help, as it sticks to a timeline structure (one song from each of Labrador’s 100 releases), but with a century’s-worth of songs to choose from, there’s more than enough to go around, and if you subscribe to pop of any sort you’ll find plenty to enjoy.

In most cases, we’re talking Pop without the Tart. Nary a shout can be heard from the Labrador vocalists, a group of cute-’n’-cunning fems and heartbroken lads. Disc One is dance-driven with an indie core of tracks holding it together. “This and That” is a tune to shake hips to — it’s also simply horrible, even if it does contain ye trusty instrumental flourish (a twee trademark). The same can be said of “He Loves Anna” by Waltz For Debbie and “Charlotte” by Permer, two tracks that should be kicked out of indie-house. And yet much beauty can be found: Leslies’ “Ignorance” is a shimmering vehicle with a thudding rhythm and more ties to punk – post- or otherwise – than to tweeee. If you wink at Los Fancy Free’s funk-driven “Honey Watch That Man,” it might slap your ass, and when Lasse Lindh says she’s “Bruised,” you’ll believe her, but don’t believe your senses completely; she’s a man, baby!

Disc Two, like the first, doesn’t blow its wad early. Unlike the first, its quality is consistently upper-tier. You can hear a still-fledgling label waddling to its feet and stretching its legs out. The Radio Dept. and Legends summon The Jesus and Mary Chain in the exact opposite way. Tribeca start a block party in your pants with flare-filled beats, but it’s all deception – they’re about to Pop all over your face prematurely. And that’s alright, because [ingenting] are going to wash it off with crystal-clear jangle-rock, followed by the after-soak rinse of Douglas Heart’s “Smoke Screen,” another house-off with strange strains of shoegaze attached like silver streamers. And this is only a sliver of the bounty Disc Twa has to offer, what with 25 slices to divvy up.

Disc Three starts with the sort of lyrical premise that’ll haunt a reviewer’s dreams. Pelle Carlberg narrates the story of calling a reviewer who has assigned his work a paltry grade. I guess he’ll have to call me too, because he sucks. Ok ok, he’s actually not too bad, I just couldn’t resist the punchline; still, his lyrical journey does become wearying after a spell. Much more punchy are the tracks from Suburban Kids With Biblical Names, the where-have-you-been-all-my-life Sambassadeur, and Hanky & Panky, the twee-est band I’ve ever heard…in a good, even great, way. By this time any resistance is futile. You’ve been sucked into Labrador’s world and that’s that.

Truth be told, Disc Four tails off a bit, but perhaps I’ve had too much sugar poured down my agape gullet at this point. Considering the sketchy nature of label comps, I send a tip of the cap Labrador’s way for 100. It’s simply huge and huge-sounding – no matter your persuasion, there’s likely a nerve to be struck if you aren’t afraid to strap it on. Make sure you have a few days, as 100 songs can seem like an eternity no matter how well they’re sequenced.

Disc: 1 1. Car, Travel Far! - First Floor Power 2. This and That - Acid House Kings 3. I’m Home - Starlet 4. Missing You - Club 8 5. C’mon Through - Lasse Lindh 6. Ignorance - The Leslies 7. I Don’t Need Anyone - Club 8 8. He Loves Anna - Waltz for Debbie 9. Dear Friend - The Leslies 10. Honey Watch That Man - Los Fancy Free 11. We’re Simple Minds - Club 8 12. Bruised - Lasse Lindh 13. Reflected - Ronderlin 14. Before You Went Away - Airliner 15. Charlotte - Permer 16. We’re the Acid House Kings - Acid House Kings 17. Once Upon a Time - Waltz for Debbie 18. Undeserved Disgrace - Mondial 19. Everlasting Love - Club 8 20. When Sun Falls on My Feet - Starlet 21. You and Me - Club 8 22. Start Anew 23. Maybe in the Next Life - Cinnamon 24. Flowers First - Waltz for Debbie 25. Sunday Morning - Acid House Kings

Disc: 2 1. Against the Tide - The Radio Dept. 2. Teenage - Tribeca 3. Great Divide - Aerospace 4. Make It All Right - Legends 5. Expired - Douglas Heart 6. Syster Dyster 7. Not Today - Afraid Of Stairs 8. Sacred Heart - Laurel Music 9. Cold Hearts - Club 8 10. She Stays at Home - Ronderlin 11. Pleasant Dream - Edson 12. Love Is So Cool (That My Heart Goes Boom) - Jacqueline 13. Landmarks and House - Wan Light 14. Trying to Be Clever - Airliner 15. Sun Always Shines on TV - Tribeca 16. Why Won’t You Talk About It? - The Radio Dept. 17. Astronauts - Wan Light 18. One Last Song About You Know What - Edson 19. Saturday Night Engine - Club 8 20. Smoke Screen - Douglas Heart 21. Where Damage Isn’t Already Done - The Radio Dept. 22. Question of Gender - Douglas Heart 23. Say Yes If You Love Me - Acid House Kings 24. Freedom Fighters - Wan Light

Disc: 3 1. Go to Hell, Miss Rydell - Pelle Carlberg 2. Trumpets and Violins - Suburban Kids with Biblical Names 3. Deliverance - The Radio Dept. 4. There and Back Again - Legends 5. This Heart Is a Stone - Acid House Kings 6. Between the Lines - Sambassadeur 7. Gråat Inte Älskling 8. Her Breasts Were Still Small - Tribeca 9. Funeral Face - Suburban Kids with Biblical Names 10. Die 5times Times5 - South Ambulance 11. That Grim Reality - Wan Light 12. Här Kommer Solen 13. When the Day Is Done - Legends 14. Dreams and Lies - Laurel Music 15. Rent a Wreck - Suburban Kids with Biblical Names 16. Pulling Our Weight - The Radio Dept. 17. Always No - Douglas Heart 18. In a Dream - Corduroy Utd. 19. Hurray - Hanky & Panky 20. Solitude - Tribeca 21. Do What You Wanna Do - Acid House Kings 22. And Then She Flung Me the Truth - Edson 23. Empty Feeling - Laurel Music 24. Daddy’s Boy - Corduroy Utd. 25. Call It Ours - Legends

Disc: 4 1. Punkdrömmar 2. Worst Taste in Music - The Radio Dept. 3. New Moon - Sambassador 4. Waterfront - Irene 5. Play It for Today - Legends 6. Släpp in Solen 7. I Wanna Be Like Johnny C - Loveninjas 8. Pet Grief - The Radio Dept. 9. Heart - Legends 10. Tasteless Offer - Pelle Carlberg 11. Marry Me - Suburban Kids with Biblical Names 12. People Like Us - Legends 13. Lost - The Mary Onettes 14. Baby I Love Your Way - Irene 15. Will You Love Me in the Morning? - Acid House Kings, Magnus Carlson 16. Keep Your Love - Loveninjas 17. Lucky Star - Legends 18. Beehive Kid - Wan Light 19. Ice & Snow - Sambassadeur 20. He Knows the Sun - Legends 21. It’s OK - Loveninjas 22. Little Things (That Tear Us Apart) - Irene 23. Riverbank - Pelle Carlberg 24. Today [Phone Edit by Les Espions] - Legends 25. Kate - Sambassadeur 26. We Made the Team - The Radio Dept.

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