Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

Compiled and available before 'Mindy's Revenge' hit the racks, this is like Mindy's streetwise little kitten sister. A bit rougher round the edges, but with a more daring selection of songs/artists and therefore more interesting. However, without the might of Word's A&R department behind it, it's not likely that many of the 13 artists providing the 18 tracks will get snapped up by the seriously moneyed labels! This is a shame because there are some good examples of modern rock to be found in the grooves here. In particular Masada provide some furiously jangly rock in effective style and I have a soft spot for Fifteen Minutes' slightly low budget pair of songs that promise a band worth investigating further. The acoustic approach of the wonderfully named Deaf Hearing are worth a mention and outside of the modern rock thing, the rock'n'rap of Higher Ground stands out along with the quaint ska of Solomon's Porch. But the one that immediately caught my attention is the "60s pastiche, "Groovy", performed by Scarecrow And Tinmen. Perfectly catching the "60s vibe, these guys have recently signed to America's Pamplin and one can only guess from the excellent track compiled here what a full album might sound like. Despite the sometimes patchy overall quality. Peacefreak should be loudly applauded for releasing this album and Word should invite them to put together the follow up to "Mindy's Revenge".

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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