WHO ARE THEY? The Danish underground record label Crunchy Frog, started 25 years ago by some folks with great taste in music (along with an obvious love of Monty Python’s Flying Circus).
WHAT IS THIS? A 16-track compilation of current singles by every active artist on their roster — including non-household names like I Am Bones, PowerSolo, Hands of Light, Bidt and plenty more. Just to make it more interesting, the last note of every song matches the opening note of the next track, forming what they call “a musical chain letter.”
WHAT DOES IT SOUND LIKE? An ultra-cool playlist featuring some of the best bands you’ve never heard.
WHAT WOULD BE A BETTER TITLE FOR THIS ALBUM? Still Crunchy After All These Years.
HOW SHOULD I LISTEN TO IT? While perusing the label’s website to get up to speed on all these acts.
WHAT 10 WORDS DESCRIBE IT? Eclectic, eccentric, quirky, silly, playful, shapeshifting, chaotic, experimental, distinctive, dynamic.
WHAT ARE THE BEST/WORST SONGS? Beta Satan’s offkilter and angular alt-rocker I Am Jackrabbit; Tremolo Beer Gut’s tinny, reverberating surf-rock fever dream Codename Tremstar; The New Madness’s low-rolling blues-rocker Go My Own Way; the brutal creepiness of The Malpractice’s Get Daddy on the Phone; the proggy swirl of Snake & Jet’s Amazing Bullit Band’s Planetary Dawn.
WHAT WILL MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY SAY? ‘Do you think we’d have heard of these people if we lived in Denmark?’
HOW OFTEN WILL I LISTEN TO THIS? Often enough that eventually, you’ll want to seek out more from these acts.
IF THIS ALBUM WERE A BOOK, WHAT KIND OF BOOK WOULD IT BE? A short-story collection by a slate of avant-garde writers.
SHOULD I BUY, STREAM OR STEAL IT? Pick through the assortment to find the sweetest treats.
