Album of the Day

A Little Nonsense, by echolyn (2002): In brief, here is the echolyn story: the band released two full-length CDs and an EP independently, got signed by a Big Label, released on album on Big Label, broke up, released a posthumous compilation album, then reformed in 2000 to begin anew (they continue to this day). When the band signed to Big Label, the two old albums and the EP got locked in Big Label's vaults. After the band regrouped in the new millennium, they made it a point to free the old albums and give them a proper remastering and rerelease. Their second album, the brilliant Suffocating the Bloom . . ., got its own release.

For the rest, the band put together this 3-disc set. Disc 1 is the band's self-titled debut. In a current discussion on the mailing list, the band has been poo-pooing that album, a bit unfairly in the opinion of most fans (myself included). Yes, it's rough. Yes, they sound better, more mature, and more confident now. But the energy and youthful enthusiasm shine through, so it's still a good listen. Disc 2 combines the early EP, . . . and Every Blossom, with four mostly acoustic tracks, and the posthumous compilation disc, When the Sweet Turns Sour, which contains some live cuts, unreleased studio tracks, and a cover of the olde Genesis tune "When the Sour Turns to Sweet." Disc 3 is a real grab bag, holding four reworked "2000" versions of old tunes, three "live in the studio" cuts from the reunion album Cowboy Poems Free, and an old old jam session called "The Edge of Wonder."

It's a neat set, overall. I usually invade it for the debut album, honestly, 'cause the When the Sweet Turns to Sour material has it's own disc that I can pull out when I'm in the mood.