Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 25/09/06
Label: HDIF

Twenty years on from the release of the seminal C86 cassette - the pivotal moment when independent music morphed into indie thanks to the gloriously jangling sounds of, amongst others, Primal Scream, The Shop Assistants, The Bodines and The Wedding Present - "The Kids In The Club" compilation is a timely reminder that, just like that other quintessentially '80s genre goth, indiepop has continued to thrive and mutate and in this case to successfully drag shy, sensitive types away from the gaze of their Smiths posters and onto the dancefloor.

To its many detractors both past and present, indiepop was/is little more than a bunch of limp-wristed, fey shamblers too scared to rock and prepared to settle for diluted results but this is to miss the point. At its best, indiepop's combination of sugar sweet melodies and the gap between ambition and achievement delivers as much accidentally wonderful results as it does irresistible charm.

Lovingly compiled by the curators of London's best indiepop club night How Does It Feel To Be Loved?, "The Kids In The Club" is the genre's own State of the Union address as it assesses and celebrates its two decade lifespan, and if at least one thing springs from this collection of nineteen songs from today's exponents then it's the confirmation that indiepop is in incredibly rude health with a reach that spans continents.

Sweden, rapidly becoming the genre's spiritual home, is represented by wildly differing takes from the likes of the happy-clappy 29-piece I'm From Barcelona, the brass-driven Irene, Salty Pirates and the brilliantly named Suburban Kids With Biblical Names while, amazingly, America gets a look-in with Voxtrot and Saturday Looks Good To Me, Scotland contributes Butcher Boy while closer to home Shimura Curves' superb grasp of Stereolab's dynamics prove seductive and Lucky Soul's Mural Of Sound facsimile of Phil Spector induces goosebumps at fifty paces.

Ideologically and stylistically, the shadow of indiepop's spiritual godfather Morrissey looms large over this compilation; Fosca's "I've Agreed To Something I Shouldn't Have" is pure Moz, while Fanfalo's "Elephant Graveyard" is a rare disappointment as it fails to make the grade. However, at a brilliantly-timed 65 minutes, "The Kids In The Club" is a delightfully fluffy ball of loveliness that not only stands tall on its own merits but also acts as a fantastic accompaniment for that cardie that your gran bought you last Christmas.

    by James Marshall