This compilation has been put together to celebrate the 12th birthday of Edinburgh’s Whimsical label and, like every pre-teen, there are tracks here which show great maturity and promise, such as Emporium’s ‘Mind Games’ and there are also shades of teenage petulance in the form of Natasha England’s ‘I Casually Strolled By’.
This makes it a natural successor to that other Edinburgh indie legend, Postcard and it has all the boons and flaws of that great lost cause. You’ll find everything here, from singer-songwriters to hard rock, with a little bit of jazz in the middle, just for good measure. This is, then a real journey, with all the good bits and bad bits that phrase implies.
There are long stretches of beauty, which seem to go on forever. There are also short pit stops of frustration and boredom but, just when you think they are getting too much, along comes another wee surprise.
