Offering something for both the selective collector and the completist, disc one of this two-CD set compiles 18 tracks from the instrumental group's 1994-1999 albums, while disc two assembles rare, previously unreleased, and newly recorded material. Though almost all original compositions are featured, the unwary might not guess that these were either originals or 1990s recordings, so accomplished is the group's retro-surf (with other influences creeping in from early-'60s Pacific Northwest rock, horror movies,
Joe Meek productions,
Davie Allan, and the mid-'60s power chording of
the Kinks). It was too late to reinvent the wheel on this sort of thing, but it's performed with style and confidence, with plenty of dripping reverb and splashing drums. The rarer stuff on disc two is pretty similar to the more widely exposed items on CD one, in both style and quality. Even enthusiastic fans of the band might have missed some of the three previously released tracks on the rarities disc, as those were taken from out of the way various-artists comps and a 1994 single. Of note to those who follow these particular pilgrims' progress is the appearance of four tracks that represent the group's first new recordings in over half a decade. Finally, disc two also has ten minutes of enhanced CD video footage that scrapes together fragments of several songs the band performed live between 1994 and 2000, the live concert clips being of considerably lower fidelity than the TV ones. ~ Richie Unterberger