Personnel: Laura Veirs (vocals, guitar, banjolele); Aaron Dall, Justin Hamacher, Tamar Berk, Tara Key, Thurston Moore (vocals, guitar); Brooke McAleer (vocals, acoustic guitar); Katie Eastburn (vocals, violin, percussion); Cynthia Dall (vocals, strings, keyboards); Rachel Carns (vocals, organ, drums); Kirsten Lynn, Heather Lynn (vocals, keyboards); Lisa Rickenberg (vocals, synthesizer); Kim Thompson , The Legend! , Nedelle Torrisi (vocals); Jayne Simon (guitar, sitar); Jarrett Silberman (guitar, violin, bass guitar); Dave Holmes (guitar, background vocals); Jeff Rosenberg, Betsy Kwo, Julian Teakle, Lee Ranaldo, Chris Funk (guitar); Steve Poponi (electric guitar, drums); Paul Degan (electric guitar); Jim O'Rourke (bottleneck guitar); Eyvind Kang (viola); Katie Gentile (strings); Jenny Conlee (keyboards); Steve Shelley (gamelan); Brett Rudy (drums, background vocals); Chris Kurtz, Stephen Malmin, David Nichols , Josh Madell, Stephen McCarty, Rachel Blumberg (drums); Tucker Martine (percussion).
Audio Mixers: Robert Austin; Jessica Ruffins; John Baccigaluppi; Andy Hong; Bill Skibbe; Jordan Koop; Brian Paulson.
Audio Remixer: Electronic Boots.
Recording information: 40 Watt Club, Athens, GA; At Home; Batwiddicals; Egg Studios, Seattle, WA; Magic Bread; Melbourne, Australia; Pirate House Studios; Retrofit; San Francisco, CA; The Attic; Washington DC; White Ark Studios; Zapping Tongue Stick Studio, New York, NY; Zero Return Studios.
Tracks and Fields is a double-disc follow-up to Kill Rock Stars' double-disc Fields and Streams set from 2002. Much the same as that fine release, this is a roundup of indie rock and pop bands that either record for KRS or make music that float KRS' boat. The disc plays like a state of the indie union address with a nice mix of established acts and up-and-comers and a strong sense of the overall vision and aesthetic that has helped keep KRS going all these years. Disc one's highlights are a crinkly track from the Legend! ("I'm Not Like That"), a deeply soulful revamping of What's Going On-era Marvin Gaye by His Name Is Alive ("Peace in Detroit"), the starkly beautiful "Eric's Song" from Cynthia Dall, the storming "Pink 14" by Billy Childish's Buff Medways, the cute new wave of the Charades ("The Only One"), and the nasty garage blues of Total Sound Group Direct Action Committee ("Wake Me When I'm Over"). Disc two holds many pleasures as well, like Biography of Ferns' epic Pastels/Television Personalities-influenced "John the Barber," Measles Mumps Rubella's glittery disco-funk "Fantastic Success II," the lo-fi demo of Devendra O Banhart's "Poughkeepsi," Nedelle's soulful indie folk ("Begin to Breathe"), a stunning acoustic take of "Golden Cloud" from space rock stalwarts Dead Meadow, and a sweet country tune from the heavily hyped (deservedly so) Decemberists ("Everything I Try to Do, Nothing Seems to Turn Out Right"). Some songs -- but only a handful -- aren't quite up to the level of the rest, and are not enough to drag the collection down. Anyone who wants to get a feel for beneath-the-radar indie rock in 2004 should seek this out. ~ Tim Sendra
