The review...

edited by ania to add the tracklist and comments:

Track 1 ben christophers - my beautiful demon (from my beautiful demon) - possibly 'My Beautiful Demon' - sounds instantly familiar, although I don't know what it is. Male singer, who sounds similar to Mark Greaney of JJ72. Very laidback but heartfelt at the same time. Some lovely guitar work and excellent atmosphere throughout the track. i think it mightve been the third mix ive made with this as the opening track. i like this guy a lot. guess you could call it folktronica.

Track 2 the national - secret meeting (from alligator) - another male singer but with a much deeper voice. A great lyric; 'I had a secret meeting in the basement of my brain'. I'm sure this is a band, rather than a solo singer. Instrumentally, reminds me of all kinds of things, including the Jesus & Mary Chain (in their lighter moments) and a little Pixies too. theyre a great band, ive been in love with them since january, before that i used to think theyre mediocre and uninteresting. i was clearly insane.

Track 3 smolik feat. artur rojek - 50 tysięcy 881 (from smolik)- possibly '99 Songs About Clouds' - again, it sounds like something I should know. Another male singer, who sounds Moby-esque, although I'm sure it isn't him. It also sounds like English may not be his first language, he may be Scandinavian. Instrumentally, keyboards dominate, it's a very gentle song. polish, actually, but his accent does sound a bit scandinavian. the guy who's behind this is pretty good as far as chillout-y electronica goes, the vocals are provided by the singer of what probably is the most successful indie band in poland.

Track 4 faultline feat. joseph arthur - wild horses (rolling stones cover) (from your love means everything)- possibly 'Wild Horses Couldn't Drag Me Away' - from the intro, I immediately thought 'Massive Attack'. And was instantly proved wrong when the singer started! A male singer again, with a guitar. This singer has a voice with more 'gravel', a little Tom Waits-ish. from a very good, atmospheric album. apart from joseph arthur, the guy invited the flaming lips, michael stipe and chris martin to collaborate. i like this far more than the original song.

Track 5 four tet - look after your mermaid- another Massive Attack-ish intro, much more so than track 4. The intro cuts off very suddenly after a minute or so, and then changes to an acoustic guitar. A gentle, relaxing, instrumental. a beautiful little piece from kieran hebden. a bside or one of the unreleased tracks, i think.

Track 6 bon iver - blindsided (from for emma, forever ago)- more acoustic guitar and another male singer. This particular track didn't do much for me I'm afraid. It's not a bad song at all, it just didn't 'move' me. i love this guy. maybe it doesnt have a flattering location on the mix or something, do listen more to this, its from one of the best albums of 2007.

Track 7 joe henry - sold (from tiny voices) - possibly 'Sold' - interesting intro, with the use of some woodwind (clarinet?) which continues through the song. The singer has the sound of someone like Albert King. The song is a cool combo of jazz, blues and true R&B. It builds up through the song and by the end is incredibly powerful. Like it a lot. this guy is freaking great. i have no idea why nobody knows him.

Track 8 chet baker - the thrill is gone (from chet baker sings) - 'The Thrill Is Gone' - not BB King, but a very cool jazz tune, with some great trumpet. Could be John Coltrane or Chet Baker? Excellent! chet baker indeed :)

Track 9 ryan adams - harder now that it's over (from gold) - possibly 'It's Harder Now That It's Over' - this is again something that I feel I should know. I'm sure I've heard this singer before. Almost certainly American, I think it might be Ryan Adams but I'm not sure. good guess again!

Track 10 the twilight singers - fat city (slight return) (from blackberry belle) - possibly 'Kathy Gets High' - interesting. A much heavier sound than anything so far. A complex sound from the band, especially the keyboards, although the guitars come much more to the fore later on in the song. Not a clue who it may be! Difficult to even spot the influences. I like this a great deal. im so happy you like this! the twilight singers are my favourite band that isn't radiohead (ex aequo with spiritualized). greg dulli rocks. you need to get all of their albums. now.

Track 11 bell x1 - bound for boston hill (from music in mouth) - another band, I think. Again, some very good guitar and especially bass work with some muted brass in the backing. I wouldn't be surprised if the singer was Irish but I don't think it's Glen Hansard. Could it be Roesy? how dyou know its irish? is it because of some accent subtleties i cannot hear? anyway, bell x1 are what was left from juniper after damien rice had left. im not too fond of their last album, but i really dig this one, especially this track.

Track 12 matt sweeney and bonnie 'prince' billy - i gave you (from superwolf) - possibly 'I Gave You' - male singer with electric guitar. Obviously a song about a break-up. Good but very 'intense', I think I need to give that one another listen or two. it is very intense. and it is brilliant. listen again. and again. and again.

Track 13 sun kil moon - carry me ohio (from ghosts of the great highway) - intro and melody seems very Crowded House. The singer is reminiscent of maybe Neil Young? The band are a little too loud, particularly the guitar, and the lyric isn't very clear :o( google the lyrics and your heart will break.

Track 14 world's end girlfriend - we are the massacre (from the lie lay land) - another atmospheric instrumental . A lot of strings, with a snare drum and some sound effects (children's voices mainly). A guitar comes in about half-way and it begins to build up. The last minute is quite powerful and intense with the feeling that it will build to a huge climax, but instead it gently fades. its japanese and i guess it could be tagged as postrock, but not the cliche kind of postrock, more organic and not formulaic at all.

Track 15 antony and the johnsons feat. rufus wainwright - what can i do? (from i am a bird now) - possibly 'What Can I Do' - starts with just a piano and a vocalist who in some ways sounds like Thom Yorke. Very short (less than 1' 45"). Joined by some guitar and drums. i love antony, but i love rufus even more (no surprise there), so this is perfect. i think the vocal and instrumental structure of this song are both perfect. a little masterpiece.

Track 16 apparat - over and over (from walls) - possiblty 'Over And Over Again' - not sure what to make of this one. It's good, with some unusual stereo effects but another song that I think needs to be listened to more than once. A grower, you could say. it is a grower. the guy is from germany and he used to be more into techno / house, but last year he released this electronica masterpiece and ended up in my top 10 albums from 2007.

Track 17 beck - side of the road (from sea change)- sounds a little like Gruff Rhys. Again, very laid back and relaxing. i thought itd be a good closing track. its very soothing.

Overall, a very good album, although a little more of a change of pace would have been nice at some point. Certainly some interesting songs here, especialy Tracks 7 and 10. Track 12 is one that needs a few listens I think, to get into.
However, I think this album needs to be listened to in the right place at the right time. A Friday afternoon, before going to work is probably not it.It would be perfect for a quiet late Saturday night, just chilling with some wine.

i get the change of pace suggestion. i was actually wondering whether its gonna be a problem, as there are no dramatic changes of pace or genre, but i thought id go for something more coherent this time. what i thought was interesting about the mix is that it sounds like some chill out afternoon music, which is nice, but when you pay closer attention to the lyrics its all mostly really heartbreakingly sad. so depending on the mood you can either enjoy it while sipping wine on the front porch ( :P ) or listen to it at night and end up feeling pretty depressed. i recommend listening on headphones, too.

anyway, im glad you like at least a couple of songs. if you want to hear anything more by any of these guys (unsurprisingly there are no female vocalists), lemme know.

i'll upolad the mix later if anyone else is interested in hearing it.