V/A Bearsuit Records - Captain Woof Woofs' Guitar [Album]

Bearsuit Records

November 26, 2009, 02:31 PM

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by Hannah Edney [More from this Author]

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Having for my sins not heard of Bearsuit Records before, I can safely say they’re a jolly good record label. This sampler showcases the real creativity of what they have to offer, and experimental it most certainly is. It’s not the most groundbreaking, eclectic bunch of tracks I’ve ever heard but they definitely have a label ‘sound’ and identity and there’s originality gushing out of the ears of their little panda bear suits.

It sounds like Bearsuit are one of those lovely refugees where decent musicians who wouldn’t get a look-in at other labels because of their muso-only appeal can bask in the glow of understanding, free soup and a borrowed jumper. There’s everything on here from sample-based obscure mash-ups (Kirameki) to more accessible Sufjan Stevens-style acoustic singer / songwriter tracks (The Temple Cloud Country Club).

The mood the album creates as a whole is a calming and warm one, with tracks like ‘Singing Ringing Tree’ by Mr. Fritz & Magnitophono and ‘Alone Together’ by Komoriuta making you feel like wrapping yourself up in your duvet with a cup of tea and just watching the world go by. The Komoriuta track has a bit of a Lemon Jelly about it, because of the spoken word samples and lovely plinky-plonky bits, but it’s better; it has a richer sound and some more interesting things going on. There is even a secret track, which is odd for a compilation album, but hey, who wants to play by the rules?

You’ve probably already noticed but there’s also a bit of a trend for kooky band and track names going on here, but from an album entitled "Captain Woof Woofs’ Guitar," that’s to be expected. There’s little information readily available about the label themselves, which is in a way refreshing as they let the tracks speak for themselves. But with no official website and nothing but independent reviews on their Myspace, it would be nice to have a bit of an explanation of their ethos or principles as a label. From what I can glean from this album though, rather than being about a genre, they seem to be all about a mood or an attitude, and a right good one, at that.