When I saw there was a new compilation devoted to hailing one of the greatest northwest bands of all time (yes, Tullycraft), I got pretty excited. When I saw that the tracklist included bands from famed labels like Tullycraft’s very own Magic Marker Records, as well as HHBTM, Matinee, and even recent favorite weePOP, my excitement blew through the roof. Look down the track list (it’s at the end of this review… I’ll forgive you for pausing to check it out) and you’ll see some of the greatest indie pop and modern twee bands around today. Fishboy. Iji. Casper & The Cookies. Galactic Heroes. Math & Physics Club. The Besties. Hot Lava. Oh man, this is gonna be good.

Even if you’re not familiar with the Tullycraft originals (side note: shame on you!) you can enjoy this mix. It all kicks off with Hot Lava doing a fuzz rendition of “Pink Lemonade” before Bunnygrunt lays down a great drum track for “Not Quite Burning Bridges”. And then Seattle’s very own Iji takes a stab at the epic “Josie” with their off-kilter massive group sound. Oh man, and The Besties ROCK “Our Days In Kansas”! There, that’s the first four tracks and I’m already blown away.

Among the more unique covers are “Sweet” by The Smittens, who lend their bubblegum pop fronted by deep male vocals to the song, and “Superboy Supergirl” by Seattle’s soft indie pop group Math & Physics Club. It’s great to hear some of the best indie pop bands from the Northwest and beyond paying tribute to their kin, each lending their own unique style to remake one of that band’s originals. They’re all Tullycraft, but they all possess the traits common to each individual band. And that’s what makes a tribute album great. Wish I’d Kept A Scrapbook, if anything, is great.

Download: “Pink Lemonade” by Hot Lava

Download: “Every Little Thing” by The Medusa Snare

Unchikun Records

1. Hot Lava: Pink Lemonade
2. Bunnygrunt: Not Quite Burning Bridges
3. Iji: Josie
4. The Besties: Our Days In Kansas
5. The Medusa Snare: Every Little Thing
6. Hotpance Romance: Wild Bikini
7. The Smittens: Sweet
8. Math & Physics Club: Superboy & Supergirl
9. LA Tool & Die: If You Take Away the Make Up Then the Vampires They Will Die
10. Fishboy: Rumble With The Gang Debs
11. Folklore: Look How We Killed The Riot Grrrls
12. Galactic Heroes: Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend’s Too Stupid To Know About
13. Gold Bears: Skyway
14. Master Track: DIY Queen
15. The Awesomelies: Godspeed
16. Moustache of Insanity: The Punks Are Writing Love Songs
17. Poison Control Center: The Last Song
18. Casper & The Cookies: Who Needs What
19. Darren Hanlon & Rose Melberg: Our Days In Kansas
20. The Special Places: Fall 4 U

Written by Fense

And here I thought quirky, lo-fi, synth-based garage bands were pretty much limited to Kill Rock Stars releases, but Hot Lava (http://www.myspace.com/hotlavaep) proved me wrong. Their little ditty that is Lavalogy may sound like it could be a KRS release, but it comes to us from the honored label Bar None. But then again, this is a label that goes through such a diverse list of artists to include 10,000 Maniacs, Architecture In Helsinki, and DJ Spooky in their catalog, and that’s before you even hit E!

“Mummy Beach”, the first single off Lavalogy, is so unbelievably catchy, it’ll have you making up your own “mummy dance” in your bedroom at 1AM (note, in italics: I am not stating this out of experience). But there are plenty of other noteworthy tunes within the album’s… err… casket. “Blue Dragon” has lovable vocal hooks, and the synth lines in “Resolutions ’08″ are totally my fav. And I love love love the “JPG In The Sun” line Now we’re together / We’ll be there forever — and it has great vocal hooks in the verse too!

It’s no surprise that, given the synth-heavy garage-pop element, and songs with titles like “Mummy Beach” and “Ghosties” and “Brainex”, that Hot Lava carries a light Belaire reference. It’s spoooooky garage-pop! Ugh… and then there’s the sexy, seductive “love song” directed at Lovefoxxx, who of course is the crazy-sexy frontwoman of CSS.

See, this is what happens when old stodgy people like myself start listening to bands like Hot Lava and albums like Lavology. We start dancing awkwardly in our bedrooms at ungodly hours well past our company-required bedtimes. We start talking like we’re 14 again (of course, using more modern slang like bff and wtf and rolf) and stop using caps and punctuation.

OK, maybe not the last two, but still. wtf is happening to me?

Hot Lava: Mummy Beach [mp3]

Bar None Records [CD, 2008]

1. Brainex
2. Apple+Option+Fire
3. Blue Dragon
4. Over It
5. Mummy Beach
6. Iggy
7. O Retorno Da Lovefoxxx
8. Resolutions ’08
9. JPG In The Sun
10. Ghosties