Stench of Muscle is the name of the compilation as well as both the label putting it out as their debut release and the series of Leeds gigs that have played host to the bands contained here, collecting many of the local scene's great and good plus many of those who simply passed through it, leaving nothing behind but a little turd of gratitude that smelled of DIY. Many of these tracks are exclusive to this release and a couple were actually recorded at the shows celebrated here. It's never easy to give a really good overview with compilations but each of these 21 tracks is a winner in their own way, always unified by a desire to do something more interesting than the average bear and also quite often by a skronking wonkiness. You've got the technicolour Devo-isms of Cowtown, the comedy upset-rock of Mucky Sailor with their cover of Luther Vandross's 'Never Too Much' (complete with muffled Irish ramblings), as well as a sub-minute noiseblast from guitar slingin' Chris Sharkey who also pops up on the avant-math-metal of Bilbao Syndrome.. Gay Against You sound like a Commodore Sinclair mounted a Speak and Spell and begat a Fanta-injecting sprog who lives in a disco ball. That Fucking Tank do their usual Ruins-esque thing as brilliantly as ever. 7 Hertz do modernist chamber music that's all tense and lush. Serious Sam Barrett contributes an infuriatingly infectious twangy country stomper. I could go on.. If you want a taste of the real good stuff that goes on around Leeds rather than the rubbish that's pierced the mainstream, look no further - these sisters are doin' it for themselves, not in the desperate hope of catching a whiff of a middle-aged A&R man's sweaty, dangling cock. On CD only and packaged in a lavish and uncharacteristically professional-looking digipak with lovely hand-drawn artwork, this is as diverse and as interesting a grass roots compilation as you're ever likely to hear and album of the week for my penny and pound, rapidly worsening exchange rate be damned!
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What their label says...
‘Stench of Muscle’ is the first compilation to be released by Leeds-based independent (i.e. operating from a bedroom) label, Stench of Muscle Records. Stench of Muscle has been promoting independent, D.I.Y. music events at various small venues in Leeds since September 2006 and this compilation documents the first year (or thereabouts), up to November 2007.
The majority of the bands are Leeds-based but other acts also come from London, Glasgow and as far away as Rome. Relatively well-established acts like Gay Against You and That Fucking Tank appear alongside more nascent acts like Cissy (their first ever recording appears here) and Hair + Make-up (likewise).
The point being that rather than serving as a traditional label ‘Showcase’, we hope that in presenting this compilation as a document of bands that we have hosted at our events, rather than as acts that are ‘signed’ to a label, we go some way to highlighting the exceptional quality and freedom of music being produced, and to celebrate the wonderfully creative and burgeoning independent scene that Stench of Muscle is a small part of. One that happily goes on existing in Leeds, pretty much below the radar.
This record will be part of an ongoing series of compilations released annually by Stench of Muscle. Following shows that have taken place since and are scheduled for the coming months, the next instalment will feature acts such as Neptune, Indica Ritual and Puttin’ On The Ritz, amongst other Leeds acts.
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