Various - Stuffs Vol.2 FLAC

Terminal Boredom:
V/A "Stuffs Vol. 2" LP
The compilation game is a tough one these days. It takes a lot of effort to make a good one for often very little return. CMA out of Norway made a pretty good one in "Stuffs Vol. 1", but the fact is that not many probably heard it and that I haven't spun my copy since reviewing it says a lot. Admirably, they're back again with Vol. 2, which has a wonderful line-up of international weird punkers, many of whom have some name recognition (Dan Melchior, Sunny & The Sunsets, Cosmonauts, Bazooka) mixed in with a few unkowns. I'll go over the highlights instead of a tiring track-by-track analysis (even though I love doing that shit...the sacrifices I make). The Pierre & Bastien song that opens the comp is a stone killer, De Hoje Haele do a good weird-pop number and The Cosmonauts track isn't too shabby for West Coast neo-psych. Side B has the bulk of the meat though, Soupcans open with a real good rubbery beater, the Kraesj Normal track is outtasite and sounds like a girl-fronted Cheveu almost (is this just Crash Normal?), Plasto Beton do a good yet brief synth-blaster, NASA Space Universe contribute "ACBC" and live up to their rep as one of the best bands in hardcore right now and the Offonoff track to end is a pretty decent noisescape. The only thing messing up side B is a duff cut from Bazooka (go figure) and Side A is all choice except for a real dopey Sunny & The Sunsets tune. As good a comp as you're gonna get these days, and the French really kill it on this one. Classy packaging as well.(RK)

from Boston Hassle:

"Based out of Oslo, Norway COMPOST MODERN ART RECORDINGS are a couple of volumes into their killer STUFFS comps that bring together a bunch of American punk bands and a bunch of European punk bands. Punk is defined very loosely here, from track to track encompassing garage rock, power pop, strange hardcore, garage pop, and even some other stuff that I guess is indie rock or something. Anyway, the point is this label is bringing together a lot of music that emanates from the underground and doing away with the strict aesthetic adherence that often separates them, but doesn’t really exist for the most part (as far as I’m concerned). Anyway, I really love these comps for this reason, and because they are full of amazing bands from all over the map. STUFFS VOL. 2 is the latest in the series. And though at least some of the tunes found on it are previously released (I haven’t done my research but I know that at least the DAN MELCHIOR track is one that I’ve heard before on one of his many releases), the comp taken as a whole is still incredibly fresh any way you slice it. Fresh still even though this vinyl comp was released back in early 2013.
Anyway, you probably know some of the bands, bands that we’ve loved over and over and still want to love some more: DAN MELCHIOR, NASA SPACE UNIVERSE, SOUPCANS, ACID BABY JESUS. Alongside them there were a bunch of discoveries on here for me. PIERRE & BASTIEN’s track “Stress & Paillettes” shows the Paris band crushing punk rock and garage rock into one blasting force with a great sci-fi guitar riff that keeps coming back into my head at quiet moments much like the tinnitus that listening to bands like this enough (too late for me) will cause. The pan-European OFFONOFF weigh in with a noise rock bastard of a track of improvised mayhem called “MIHA!”, courtesy of the trio that includes a member of THE EX, and players who have collaborated with the likes of PETER BROTZMANN and JOHN BUTCHER. France’s LES CHOEURS DE LA MER NOIRE (featuring members of CHEVEU) offer up “Dryer”, an odd and noisy synth punk approach that actually may be my favorite song on the whole comp. Creepy slightly psychedelic cheap synth-punk-pop with just that correct amount of noise.
In case it’s not clear to you, this comp is pretty amazing. You might know the American bands, maybe you even know most of the bands, but for most this will be a far reaching primer for underground sounds of the USofA and Europe right now. A primer that leans heavy on scuzzy sounds, but goes well beyond just that. COMPOST MODERN ART RECORDINGS is killing it with this series of comps. Hopefully there will be a third. The label has also released records by CRASH NORMAL (included on this comp as well). Give them a look."

From Maximum Rocknroll #369

This comp starts off really great with a band I just discovered last month PIERRE ET BASTIEN. I don't know what "Stress & Paillettes" means, but I really like how it sounds. The tune is simple, but with this catchy guitar riff and aloof French vocals. Then into LES CHOEURS DE LA MER NOIRE who plays cool, demented electronic music with a monotonous drum machine and a lethargic singer with an evil voice. His voice reminds me of JON WAYNE. I had to listen to their track "Dryer" multiple times before moving on to the next song. It's that great. KRAESJ NORMAL (aka CRASH NORMAL) "On My Knees" is the best song on side B. It is an electro-new wave song with a super catchy bass line and laid-back vocals. It sounds cool. PLASTO BETON is panic rock at its most manic. Their track "Femme du RPR" is noisy and anxious and short. I think I like all the French bands best, but I have always been a bit of a Franchophile. Also included are songs by ACID BABY JESUS, DAN MELCHIOR, THE SOUPCANS, SHAKE SHAKE BOLINO, and more. This is a great comp and all the best songs are unreleased so you'll want this. (CK)

From Still Single:

The first Stuffs comp came out in 2010, just after the heyday of lo-fi rock, when crowds realized that the dollar had strengthened again and there was no monetary gain in buying every limited-to-300 piece of shit that fell out of the ass of that scene. It was a strong comp, though, matching some of the more notable American participants (Sic Alps, Ty Segall, Matt K. Shrugg) with bands in the mid-level strata (The Feeling of Love, Crash Normal, Cheveu When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth) and virtual unheards (De La Cave? Bungalow Ranchstyle?), both here and abroad – or more likely there and here, as the comp was released by a Norwegian label. This follow-up was apparently released in 2012, but it showed up here well over a year after the fact. Used to be I wouldn’t touch a record older than 6 months from the date of review, but hey, these probably aren’t going anywhere, might as well shine some light on ‘em. We’ve got an even more diverse comp this time around, with the lo-fi mold all but completely shattered. Even paths previously known by some of these artists, like Pierre & Bastien (who did that brutal, harsh, almost industrial rhythm-box slasher single “No Sex” some years back, now working almost entirely in a poppy punk framework), have been traded in due to a poor economy and narrowed outlook on life. Time to diversify? This comp seems to think so, be it via mellow, surf-laden instrumentals from a Burger Records cohort (The Cosmonauts), the speedy longhaired pop of Denmark’s De Høje Hæle, more machine exotica grind from Crash Normal, er … Kræsj Normal, even the weirdo hardcore of NASA Space Universe and the freeform destruction of The Ex-associated outfit OFFonOFF. It’s all got a home here, as does Dan Melchior, whose “Ballad of the Giant Baby” ranks as one of his funniest songs. Maybe only the compilers of Stuffs could love all of these songs, but if you still believe in physical media, this might be a good bet to get caught up with the sounds of two years past. (Doug Mosurock)