Review Summary: I might have heard your song. Or, like, 59 of them.
Having multiple pseudonyms as an artist can be very helpful to sort your music. As a musician, it generally helps when you can direct people to your work that you think they will like the most. But you kind of have to keep a limit. 2 to 4 pseudonyms are ok, but when you begin to reach the likes of 9 pseudonyms you might want to reconsider your own stance on music.
This compilation is Andrews self-proclaimed last nod to his work under his many pseudonyms. Consisting of his personal picks and songs from 9 scrapped albums in progress and clocking in at 59 songs, this is not an album you want to sit through. Considering his already big scope in music, this album is the auditory equivalent of a scatter-bomb. Everything is flying all over the place, indietronica-ballads are cut short by hip-hop, glitch-music experimentations are followed by spaghetti-western guitars. This album spazzes in every possible direction you could imagine. However, this makes for a very uneven listening. What never has been felt on Andrews previous albums is on full force here. Musical whiplash. It is literally impossible to enjoy this album in one go, the ideas expressed here are just too diverse to work together.
But yet, as scatterbrained this compilation gets, the songs themselves are all insanely good, aside from some of the super-short ones. Like, ridiculously good. You can just walk through this compilation, pick out a few songs, love them, listen to them until you are bored and go into the compilation again to pick your next favourites. No song is wasted potential at all. It has a garden-like variety that is hard not to find charming and/or impressive. Especially when considering this stuff ranges somewhere between 2002-2012. Seeing him already this much on top of his game is nothing short of amazing.
But still, there is just way too much music on this, which is funny when normally on some of Andrews projects, there tends to be too little music. The length is literally exhausting to listen to when you don't have any kinds of points where to start with this compilation.
First of all, this album is off to an amazing start with the opening trio Solarium, The Hounds and I Might Have Heard Your Song, presenting three fantastic sides of Andrew, showcasing his skills in Folktronica, Rap and Pseudo-Pop. Other instant highlights on this album are the groovy/weird Deeper, the absolutely freaking badass lyrics on How Do You Like Me Now?, the funky Romance (Queen's Park) and the crunching and crushing grunge of What Have You Ever Done?.
So, on a last note, this compilation does a really good job of presenting Andrews early career, but absolutely fails as a coherent piece of work. Granted, most compilations fail as that, but with Andrew the expectations are a little higher. It is an absolutely painful chore to sit through the whole thing and the emotional whiplash between these songs are jaw-dropping. However, these are all great tracks, so if you search for your next favourite song give this compilation a spin, it might be on here.
Also, this sells for around 10 bucks on his Bandcamp, what do you have to lose?
