Most compilation albums adhere to the Captain Planet rule, the gist of which suggests that the songs on a comp may falter individually, but their collective power makes a decent album. An album capable of battling whatever adversary stands in its way -- Dr. Blight, Duke Nukem, Discerning Listener. Dandercroft Compilation is no different, though an apt alternative title could have been John Bersuch and Friends Sing the Hits. After all, the 'zine's head honcho was instrumental in the 14-track disc's formation and -- surprise, surprise -- two of his bands each score a track. But the vanity fare is at least memorable. Minds Under Cover produces a fuzzy knockout on "Bloated in the Head," and Forrest Whitlow and the Crash deliver "Mr. Dandercroft," a toe-tapping (and Bersuch insists fictional) sendup of a lecherous elderly gentleman. The remaining dirty dozen include atmospheric spazz-outs (Be/Non's "Garlic"), throbbing snarls (Shots Fired's "Ragdoll"), somber beats and rhymes (Tommy Lift's "Father Grimm") and heartbroken lull and twang (the Hearers' "The Great Magnetic Pull"). Toss in some Season to Risk and Hot Children, and what comes out is far more than the sum of its parts. It's certainly the best compilation of local music you're going to find glued inside a free local 'zine in April.
