A compilation of early singles, compilation tracks and outtakes, Changing Caring Humans: 1997-1999 is spotty, as such comps tend to be, but it’s also quite useful in the way that it tends to break down the various threads of the Washington DC collective’s sound into their component parts where the band’s “real” albums cross-fertilize the various influences into a totally unique hybrid. In other words, while songs like the minute art-noise-electro-hardcore splatter of “Chronology of the Service Industry” and the almost jazzy post-rock of “Three-Point Throwing Star” sound a mite awkward jammed up against each other, listening to this album helps make better thought-out headspinners like Frigid Forms Sell and Satanic Versus a little clearer and easier to grasp. The odd dud like the listless cover of the Pixies’ “Tame” and the clattering, tuneless “Battleship” only puts the better songs into sharper focus, but overall, this compilation is much more for the devoted fan than the curious newcomer. – Stewart Mason
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