Though released on the mighty fine Gulcher label,
Simply Good Taste is actually a formal sampler for the Slippy Town label, run by
Crawlspace leader Eddie Flowers. The label, which is a CDR-only series at the present time, serves as an indulgence of Flowers' various interests, from early band efforts to all sorts of random and often wonderfully odd stuff that has fallen between the cracks. The connections to the whole circle of
Gizmos/MX-80 not quite punk/indie music are prevalent on this collection via archival efforts. The take of "Hey Beat Man!" by
the Gizmos is wonderfully goofy, Flowers sounding ridiculously louche, while a murky as hell version of
the Yardbirds' "Shapes of Things" from 1976 by O. Rex, which Flowers drummed in, is primitive but still good fun. But the real treat of
Simply Good Taste comes from all the various acts outside of America that Flowers gives some often well-deserved attention to via Slippy Town -- even in the days of the Internet, a lot of groups are so quietly plugging away that it takes a collection like this to help spread the word. Italian, Scottish, English, Swedish, and Czech acts -- and, to be sure, other newer American bands as well -- all take a bow, and the best of them warrant more investigation. There are extremely random bursts of noise and subsequent silences from Allun (credited instruments include type machine and "toys"), as well as a grunting rampage through
the Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog." Meanwhile, Lebedung's "Musique for Money" manages the trick of being both free-floating ambient murk and confrontational ranting at once, while
OvO's "Qui e La" (with very
Yoko Ono-esque vocals) and the Joshua Jugband 5's untitled contribution also have their points. ~ Ned Raggett