Big Stir Singles: The Eighth Wave

Big Stir Records

The latest singles comp from this label is chock full of would-be hits--really every single one of the songs, A and B sides--and it's tempting to play “what if?”

If the playing field were more open and equal, if this music could find a home beyond the modern guitar pop community, what then? Could any of these songs, for instance, The Brothers Steve with “Carry Me” or Leslie Pereira and the Lazy Heroes with “Good Karma,” be top 40 hits? The answer is emphatically "yes," and to take it to it's logical conclusion, what if this did what Nevermind did for grunge?

Everyone should know what to do here; scarf this up, as you'll hear every kind of modern guitar pop here. Spygenius brings college rock with “Cafe Emery Hill.” Librarians With Hickeys' “That Time Is Now” is mellow. “Janey” from mylittlebrother is folkish guitar pop. Jason Berk does a terrific version, even a little better than the original, of “End Of The Line”, my favorite Traveling Wilburys song. “Bird” from EZ Tiger is hard guitar pop. Another wonderful comp from a great label.

Andrea Weiss