It Came From Memphis

Rate It! Avg: 3.5 (24 ratings)
ALBUM INFORMATION
EDITOR'S PICK

Total Tracks: 12   Total Length: 46:20

eMusic Review

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Simone DeBoulevard

eMusic Contributor

04.22.11
Various Artists – Memphis Industries, It Came From Memphis
Label: Memphis Industries

Most famous for discovering Dungen and the Go! Team, Memphis Industries is based not in Tennessee but in London, where the label's co-founders, brothers Matt and Ollie Jacob, focus their wide antennae for new talent. It Came From Memphis (which, incidentally, is not related to the well-regarded blues series), features a dozen songs by nine artists on the M.I. roster, ranging from the deadpan drawl of Absentee's "Hey! Tramp" to the classic girl-group stylings of the Pipettes '"Because It's Not Love" to a pair of sad-toned, retro-tinged, indie-pop cuts from Field Music, "Tell Me Keep Me" and "Feeding the Birds" ("The itch is getting worse and it's spreading, " the latter opines about heartache). And J Xaverre's "Sports Day 1983" is that rare thing — a mid-to-late-'90s-style breakbeat-and-found-sample assemblage that evokes a hazy summer day in a small college town without sounding completely irrelevant.

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Doesn't fit neatly into a genre?

annang

That's because it's a record label sampler! If I paid any attention to that stuff, I wouldn't have half the albums I've downloaded in the last year! Also, Field Music are fantastic and 2/3 of the pipettes can't hold a tune.

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The Pipettes rock!

dan'schic

These girl-group revivalists (and subversives) are destined for big things. Hyper-catchy songs and a great live show. Check out their MySpace page to hear some of their songs.

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so far so good

Ritland

transverberations is straight up wilco. which, if you like wilco is a good thing, and i like wilco, so the track is good. though it sometimes slightly sounds like wilco in the basement. y'know, made in a basement in a makeshift studio by some guy who has a 9 to 5 and plays music to blow off steam? still, i like it. haven't heard much else, but i'll let you know, perhaps, when i do.

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Not Alternative/Punk

PaleolithNick

Most of this album is grossly mischaracterized. Track 9 could be punk. Track 10 might be loosely alternative, but Track 6 by the same artist is pure Casio. Same for Track 12, which is New Wave-ish, but Track 3 is Casio that wishes it were house music. Tracks 4 and 7 are modern rock, but the vocalist is ghastly. Track 2 is folk-alternative, but be warned that there's this repetitive water torture thing on guitar the whole time. Track 5 is a cool, unclassifiable piece that you can probably consider alternative. Tracks 1, 8, and 11, are all electronica with no alternative or punk counterparts by those artists. As long as the sampler is free, it's alright, but be warned about the true nature of the contents.

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Good stuff

MrFunk

"Transverberations" is a great song.