Brooklyn's beloved Rare Book Room studio launches its own label with this two-disc compilation, entirely laid to tape in the borough. Living Bridge features a lot of Brooklyn-based and freak-folk acts, but actual diversity can be found outside the Paw Tracks family and the abundance of ephemeral female voices.
The first disc's most interesting moments come courtesy of Palms, singing in their native German, and Black Dice, whose disjointed track is mellow by their standards, but still uncomfortably squishy. Blood on the Wall dial down their crunchy Pixie-isms and let the girl sing over a quiet shuffle (ditto for Enon on disc two), and there's an ace solo song from Charles Gansa, whose band Guv'ner used to record at Rare Book Room. A new Silver Jews song is always cause for celebration, largely for its lyrical treasures, and elsewhere, we get country-tinged psych from the Naysayer, TK Webb's bluesy folk and, unfortunately, yet another Cat Power doppelgänger in Lia Ices.
Theo Angell opens disc two with what sounds like barber-shop gospel, and Deerhunter's soft and poppy (if repetitive) “After Class” may be the best track here. Silent City give us forgettable indie, La Lus make lovely rumblings that truly suffer from pained vocals, and Fischerspooner's fake new wave is still retarded. But then there's John Wolfington's commanding “Grace”; Doldrums' quivering, swooning psychedelia; Tomorrow's Friend's bone-rattling rock topped with squeaky vocals; and Love As Laughter front man Sam Jayne, who enlists the Simpson Sound System for a leisurely jam that's still raw and sizzling.
Each of these 25 songs overlaps slightly with the one next to it, highlighting the vibe of the shared recording space. Compilations don't have a huge impact these days, but if viewed as a benefit collection for a singular studio and what's sure to be a fascinating label, Living Bridge proves a worthwhile detour.
