I've recently got some CDs from Hub City who seem to specialise in various kinds of lo-fi pop, with similarly lo-tech packaging. The Iditarod have a CD The River Nektar which brings together elements of current lo-fi pop and traditional folk. It's quiet music but can sometimes sound a bit discordant (eg Dictation And Transcription). The vocalist sings Bavaria quite loudly but other times sounds timid and/or as though she's in pain but trying to hide it. Quite an unusual vocal style and possibly an acquired taste, but I think I'd rather listen to this singer than an arrogant sounding one whose over-confident singing is the aural equivalent of swaggering.

Yesteryear's CD Under The Rug is slightly off-centre DIY pop that sometimes makes me think of Chuzzlewit, only this isn't as melancholic. There are occasionally quite discordant (yet not noisy, if that's possible) moments like Conquest. I like the tracks with the strongest tunes best, eg Try To Feel.

The Boyish Charms sounds like the name of a mid-80s indiepop band, and there are elements of this sort of thing on their CD, The Extended-Playing Paradox, as well as country (not the naff sort though) and more recent lo-fi pop. Out of these three CDs mentioned so far, this is my favourite. Now and again I'm reminded of Evil Wiener and the country influenced side of Stormclouds, but these are just vague hints.

These bands sound very DIY, like something you'd expect to hear on a tape label - in fact some tape label bands sound more professional. Hub City must be pretty brave to put this sorta thing on CD cos it has next to no commercial potential, but I admire the fact that they're releasing this stuff because they LIKE it and not because they think it's going to sell hundreds of thousands of copies (or more). A while back I was involved in a debate with another tape label person who seemed to believe that only tape labels are the true underground, as independent labels releasing records/CDs are as concerned with money, hype and image as the majors. I vehemently disagree with this opinion and I base my views on experience as I've been in contact with a vast number of indie label people over the last decade or so, so know full well the reasoning behind their labels. I think the fact that the person in question has never struck me as having much of an interest in indiepop explains why he had that opinion. Any serious follower of true indiepop will know that the labels operate with a genuine DIY spirit. Whilst I'm not denying that 'fake indies' exist, it is a fact that the majority of small indie labels I've been in touch with only release music that they truly believe in, regardless of whether it's fashionable, and Hub City is definitely an example of a label like this.

Winterbrief's CD Complaints From The Beauty Class has full colour packaging and a 'proper' CD case so is quite a departure from the more minimal packaging of the above CDs. The style of music is one which came from the underground but got a fair bit of press coverage in the mid 90s. It's keyboard based, with a rather lo-tech sounding drum machine, and a couple of tracks have punky hints, sounding like something from 1996 when loads of bands were jumping on the Bis bandwagon. Me And P St Beach is keyboardy but also has some 80s-ish jangly guitar. Quirkiness and chaos coexist on tracks like I Want To Be Sexy and Art-Loft Rebel. The last track Tricks of the Trade is an instrumental that's possibly meant to be some sort of sonic terrorism or the musical equivalent of the sort of modern art that's meant to shock, but to these ears it just sounds self indulgent, slightly messy and possibly only here to fill space. Ignoring this track, the album overall is indie-disco-punk-pop that comes across like a more angular version of Bis. If you're missing the sound of 1996, look no further (although to be fair, Winterbrief do also have ideas of their own).

The Iditarod and Boyish Charms CDs cost $6 (US)/$8 (World) and the Winterbrief CD $9 (US)/$11 (World), payment to Tina Henry. Not sure about the price of the Yesteryear CD - for info write to Tina & Jeff, PO Box 1223, Greenbelt, MD 20768-1223, USA or check out the website http://home.earthlink.net/~hubcityrec/

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