Editorial Reviews

The subtitle "China Pop" is a bit misleading here -- what this excellent compilation actually offers is a collection of China punk, post-punk, avant garage, raggedy hip-hop, and goth metal. Some of it is quite hooky, but none of it would really qualify as "pop" under any reasonable definition of the term. However, all of it is interesting and all but a handful of tracks are brilliant, and in a wide variety of ways. If you miss the Ramones (and what sentient being doesn't?), then you'll be sure to get a kick from the loud-fast-snotty attack of Caffe-In, whose "Mario and Peaches" sets a high standard for the bands to come later in the program. PK14 channel the spirit of Pere Ubu on their weird and otherworldly "Storm Eyes," and Subs alternate between a scrappy sort of early Cure sound and a flailing sort of Oi!-manqué punk rock. Not all of the featured artists sing in English, though many do, exhibiting a charmingly wide spectrum of facility with the language (at the low end are TooKoo and Hang on the Box, both of whose songs are funnier than they're probably meant to be). Some of the album's most interesting and enjoyable tracks are actually instrumentals, in particular the carefully constructed and richly layered "Song 5" by White. The album ends on a rather despairing note: the dark metal anthem "Chian" by Voodoo Kungfu is followed by the explicitly Joy Division-flavored "Panda" by Carsick Cars. Uneven and patchy in all the best ways, this collection is a fascinating window on a musical subculture that too few Westerners will ever get to experience. Rick Anderson, All Music Guide

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