Various

Ecstatic Peace! is an artist-oriented indie label based in Massachusetts, founded and curated by Thurston Moore. It’s unclear how much of a hand Moore currently has in the label’s functioning, so it’s difficult to make this review a "Sonic Youth over the hill” joke. While it’s nice to see the torch passed down to a younger generation of independent artists, a little more discretion could have been used in the compiling of this release. While some of the bands — Monotract and Be Your Own Pet, for instance — show a lot of potential, these songs sound a little lacklustre and snottily amateur. Running the gamut from third-rate, would-be Smashing Pumpkins covers to self-congratulatory effects-fiddling, the album doesn’t contain any real standalones — still, this works as a showcase of potential talents, and it’s not hard to imagine some of the bands here getting it together by themselves. If only they’d try a little harder, and/or stop trying to impress the big guy.