V/A The Way Things Change Volume 2 7"

First off, let me say that it's been a mixed bag of new wave and punk material for the past few entries, so I'd like to mix it up and share one of my favorite volumes from a great pop compilation series. Second, I'm reluctant to share this particular record because, despite being fantastic, there is a lot of surface noise that I think is a result of the orange color and heavy vinyl; hopefully you'll be able to look past that. If there is enough response, I'll probably share the rest of the series, or rather the volumes I have.

The first volume of "The Way Things Change" was Red Square Recordings first release in 2001. Red Square was run by Jen Turrell of Boyracer and Possum Moods, among others. As you can plainly see, there's a great mix of pop-oriented bands on this particular volume, the obvious standouts being Softies, Microphones, and Dear Nora. I can't quite place what it is about this record that's had me playing both sides over and over again since I got it a couple years ago. If I had to venture a guess, I'd say it's the overall mood it conveys. The mood of every song is quite somber and longing, even Dear Nora's track, which is instrumental more or less. Also, if you notice, the album art is a drawing of boy and a girl standing in the rain. The album art changed from volume to volume, and I assume that they were released during different times in the various seasons and that it wasn't just a coincidence.

Whether or not the songs for each volume coincided with the seasons is a mystery to me, although it would be cool if that were the case. I'd say this a twee comp, but every song resides more in the stripped down bedroom realm, especially the Mac Dare and Park tracks. In any case, here it is, an overlooked comp with a handful of not so overlooked artists. By the way, the Softies do a Rocketship cover (guess which song) and, as always, the Microphones are overrated.

V/A The Way Things Change Volume 2 MediaFire