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BUY THE CD
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If you see yourself as a trendsetter…a new-music guru…the one who’s always the first to discover the next big band…then This Is Next was created with you in mind. Instead of an album full of the greatest hits right now, this new compilation series features the best indie and/or alternative acts—in other words, the stuff you should be listening to…or the stuff you probably will be listening to six months or so from now.
Volume 1 in the series introduces listeners to 15 mostly-new tracks by 15 mostly-new artists. I say mostly because one of the tracks, “Do You Believe in Rapture?” is by a band called Sonic Youth—a band that I was listening to more than a decade ago. But they’re still alternative—and they’re still relatively indie. So I’ll give them that much.
The rest of the album, however, is filled with songs that I’ve either never heard (many of them by artists I’ve never heard of) or that I’ve been regularly enjoying on my local alternative station. Some are still indie. Some are just coming into the spotlight. Some are just making their way across the pond.
There’s a pretty good chance you’ve heard of artists like Neko Case and The Shins (not to mention Sonic Youth). And you may have heard one of my new favorites, the dark, catchy “The Prayer” by Bloc Party. Or the retro, almost Billy Joel-like “Underdog” by Spoon. Or “Hang Me Up to Dry” by Cold War Kids. Or “Cheated Hearts” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. But there’s a lot of stuff on this album that I’d dare to bet you haven’t heard before. And I’m sure you’ll be as pleasantly surprised as I was.
Often, with compilations, there are a couple of good songs that get you to buy the album—and then there’s just a whole bunch of filler. But This Is Next: Volume 1 is actually filled with good stuff. From gritty to peppy, from retro to electronic, from smoky to punky, the majority of the tracks are well worth checking out. And even the few tracks that I didn’t love still aren’t all that bad. And I have a feeling that you’ll be hearing more from several of the artists on this album. So I recommend heading out and picking up a copy—before someone else in your neighborhood or at the office discovers the next big band before you do.
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