V/A - Today Brooklyn, Tomorrow the World (198?, Brooklyn Beat)

So this one cuts both ways - half relatively serious (good) indie rock combos, with the remainder striking me as jokey/niche/novelty.  Problem is this Brooklyn scene report intermingles the whole lot of them haphazardly, when the far more logical route would have been to dedicate one album side to each contingent, as it were.  Also, it doesn't help that Today Brooklyn... fails to designate a copyright date on the sleeve or insert, though 1988 might be a good ballpark.  The band with the dippiest moniker, Squirrels From Hell, manages to wield this record's most crucial selection, "Cinderella Girl." a warm, analogue-hued slice of ragged and ringing guitar pop, with just the right measure of serrated distortion.  To my understanding there was more to come down the pike from the Squirrels, but in something of a different guise.  Medicine Sunday exhibit a similar aptitude, and would also be a shoo-in for left-of-the-dial hanger-oners like yours truly.  The Fields are strummy, goes down easy folks of some measurable distinction as well, and I introduced you to the formidable Woodpecker on these very pages about a year ago.  One thing that this comp doesn't need is an obnoxious take on "Shortnin' Bread," not to mention the bluesy piss-take Frank's Museum commence this disk with.  These transgressions aside, ...Brooklyn's more worthwhile inhabitants make this borough worth your perusal.

01. Frank's Museum - Baby's Got a Thang for Nasty Weather
02. The Original Rays - Ballad of the Green Berets
03. Squirrels From Hell - Cinderella Girl
04. Chemical Wedding - We Are Not Afraid
05. Formaldehyde Blues Train - St. Louis
06. Medicine Sunday - Conviction
07. The Fields - Beautiful
08. When People Were Shorter and Lived by the Water - Shortnin' Bread
09. Woodpecker - 25 Years
10. The Moe - Romance is Risky

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