Obviously the internet has made discovering unsigned bands infinitely easier than it once was: a few clicks on BandCamp, SoundCloud or (God forbid) MySpace and you can be familiar with pretty much anything going on in your city. All of which has pretty much made the traditional scene-snapshot compilation redundant. That’s doubtless why Oxford’s latest showcase compendium Spires is a free download. Compiled by one heroic half of Phantom Theory, it features fifteen local acts, aiming to provide both wider exposure for those bands involved and a handy guide to what’s bubbling up on the Oxford gig circuit.
Criticism of such an uncynical exercise seems churlish, and the main failings of Spires are doubtless beyond the control of its compiler; specifically that a good handful of the brightest new bands around were doubtless contractually unable to contribute: Fixers, Trophy Wife, Pet Moon and Chad Valley chief among them. There’s a further argument that the absence of any metal on the album neglects a sizeable chunk of what’s going down locally, but thinking about it, a local metal compilation in its own right would make for a good follow-up, if someone’s prepared to make the effort.
Familiarity with the acts featured on Spires inspires an initial blind listen: without names or track titles in front of you, can you really tell your Utes from your Spring Offensives? What this tactic does throw up is how easy it is to group bands into a set of styles: there’s muscular indie rock from Black Hats, Dial F For Frankenstein and Phantom Theory; more contemplative, arty and angular indie from Ute, Spring Offensive, Gunning For Tamar and (uncharacteristically) Dead Jerichos; sweet-natured jangle from the likes of Secret Rivals and Alphabet Backwards; drama-ridden nouveau-goth from Vixens and The Half Rabbits and some welcome electronic-based noises from Coloureds, The Rock Of Travolta and Keyboard Choir.
In the first of those categories, Phantom Theory themselves have the most powerful punch, a more metallic take on Stooges-style hardcore, while ‘Thought Police’ serves mainly to reinforce the sorrow surrounding Dial F’s recent demise.
Gunning For Tamar surprisingly come across as the strongest of the more spangled and angled brigade, although Spring Offensive are here represented by only part of their epic concept single and Ute’s most recent ‘Innocent Tailor’ release shows just how far they’ve already moved on from their contribution here.
Secret Rivals’ fluffy boy-girl call-and-response bounce is far more whimsical and mannered than their chaotic live shows ever suggested they could be, but Alphabet Backwards are something of a master-class in how to do lo-fi summer indie pop, and they remain impossible to dislike, or even frown in the presence of.
The Rock Of Travolta’s almost symphonic approach to electro-rock works best live – that frantic, edge-of-bedlam feel never quite translates as a stand-alone recorded track – but Coloureds’ disjointed, disfigured take on techno is easily Spires’ most leftfield lurch and a necessary diversion from all those guitars.
The three real stand-out songs here then come from Vixens, whose unabashed mix of portent and powerchords is a guilty gothic pleasure; Keyboard Choir, whose spectral, glitchy take on electronica closes the album in unexpectedly contemplative mood, and the absolute highlight, Winchell Riots’ soaring, shimmering ‘My Young Arms’, which amongst many other things, reveals Phil McMinn as one of the best vocalists Oxford has produced.
To be honest there isn’t a single bad track here; one or two pale slightly compared to their similarly-minded neighbours but would bear comparison to most unsigned acts doing the pub circuit. Spires easily succeeds in its primary aim – simply to show off what’s waiting in the wings in Oxford at this moment in time. What will be most interesting, though, will be to look back at the compilation in a year or two – or maybe even five – and see what became of the bands after. You wouldn’t have to be a particularly reckless gambler to bet on at least a couple of them having gone on to far bigger things.