V/A - Sink The Rich

28-track long compilations rarely deliver in terms of consistency. Many felt the three-volume Into the Light compilation I put out in aid of Pussy Riot many years ago compromised quality to a degree and, on reflection, I think they were right.

So I approached this compilation - released in aid of the Good Law Project - with anticipation tempered by realism. I expected a rollercoaster ride of the good, the bad and the semi-unlistenable and, when I saw that the first track - from Resistance Resistance - was over 26 minutes long, it did nothing to blunt those expectations. Still, I figured, discovering half a dozen tracks of genuine quality while contributing to an excellent course was going to be worth the bumpy ride ahead.

The ride, however, turned out to be one with all the thrills and few of the expected bumps and bruises. Not that this is easy listening by any means: industrial noise mingles with blistering electronica and the pretty much undefinable so if your tastes tend to the more melodic you might be tempted to avoid it. I'd advise you not to, though, because it'll do you good. Forget your inhibitions and just dive in.

Anyone familiar with my Dandelion and FSK radio shows will presumably have encountered VX before: this side-project of Neil Whitehead's Vert:X feature here, as do the mysterious New Wives of Bath, who you can hear in session on my Dandelion Radio show before the year is out.

For now, you can hear three tracks from the album in my current FSK show: now available to hear on-demand here. It wasn't an easy choice as pretty much everything on here deserves unleashing on a world that badly needs waking up and this album seems to have all the necessary tools to do that. In the end, I went for Kinver Pond's Tentacled Bigot Devouring Creature Finally Locates Your Evil Billionaire Yacht, partly, I admit, because it's the best title I've encountered all year, yet also because the quality of the track more than does it justice. It encouraged me to check out their album Sparkles Are Back, which came out last year, and is certainly worth your attention.

You can also hear Tear The Place Down by the wonderful DJ Fitnote on the show, plus Deborah Fialkiewicz's Bloodchild, a superb slab of noise that is perhaps the best representation of this collection's general mood, if anything can be said to do so. Find more of Deborah's work here. I wished I'd known about her Tale of Xmas Radio when I recorded the festive section of my December show last year. Perhaps this year.

But inevitably, three tracks can only take you a small part of this gloriously noisy ride: strap yourself in and go all the way here.