Get While The Getting's Good

If you've ever suspected that Scotland might produce more great pop music per capita than any other country in the world, and you're the type of person who likes nothing better than having your suspicions confirmed, then you might do well to get your hands on a copy of Get While The Getting's Good, a brand new compilation of (mostly) young Scottish bands, on the (yes, German-based) Aufgeladen Und Bereit label. (Scroll down just a bit to get to the album.)

There's hardly a duff song on the record, but particular highlights currently include:

* "Barcelona" by Jock Scot and Gareth Sager - a spoken word piece about drinking, and being ripped off while drinking.

* "Mail, Alice" by Wake the President - a chiming, jangling slice of C86 pop that trounces almost everything on the recent retrospective compilation of the same name, curated by Bob Stanley.

* "Hurry Monkey Hurry" by Tibi Lubin - one of those songs where, if it weren't for the title, you'd have no idea what was being sung in the chorus. Confident, sexy, and a little David Lynchy.

* "A Year in a Comprehensive" by Popup - a hilarious and biting tale of a posh girl spending a year at a not-so-posh school. And all done in just over 90 seconds!

* "Brand New Song" by the Pendulums - utterly beyond my descriptive powers, but wonderful.

* "Handstand" by Down the Tiny Steps - hypnotic and gorgeous, reminds me slightly of the Books' early stuff.