Enter The Vaselines

Fun, raunchy, lo-fi pop-rock from Scotland with cute male/female vocal sharing and occasional punk leanings. Famously adored by Kurt Cobain, and major players in the development of lo-fi aesthetic and "shitgaze": these two prove that poor instrumentation doesn't have to deter you from prolific and clever songwriting. Disc 1 is the previously released The Way of the Vaselines: A Complete History, which compiles all their completed recordings. Disc 2 offers three demos and two live sets, for those who want to go really, really lo-fi with it. My picks: D1: 1, 5, 7, 4, 8, 3, D2: 2, 12. FCC: D1: 14, D2: 14?, 15 (avoidable).
– Andy

Disc 1:
1 - 10 second growling distortion intro. Quarter-note snare hits and blend of jangly R.E.M. guitar with rougher parts.
2 - Jauntily rhythmic collection of guitars, very sing-song
3 - Drum machines and various elements of loving techno/synth-pop parody. All kinds of vocal weirdness, often sexual. Lots of fun.
4 - Fast and rocking pop-punk with loud, wandering electric guitar
5 - Sweet and catchy jangle-pop, mostly female vocals with nice chorus harmonies
6 - Fuzzy, apathetic funk rock with a long stretch of energetic chanting
7 - Somberly catchy, with nice string part
8 - Cathartic, blasphemous rock number
9 - Jaunty, folky pop with fuzzy guitar wall
10 - Lazy chanting and sighed choruses, with classic rock guitar
11 - Slow, with rambling electric guitar and two-part vocals
12 - Spacey, with bottom-of-the-range male and dainty female vocals
13 - Upbeat singalong with spurts of fiddle
14 - Rowdy, with loud guitar and call-and-response vocals. FCC - "fucking"
15 - Fast, pissed-off punk rock with nice guitar work
16 - Driving, muddy guitar jam
17 - Up-tempo with sprawling two-part vocals. Long instrumental
18 - Slowed down version of 4 with fuzzier guitar and lots of reverb on the harmonies. Not actually very bluesy.
19 - Determined, with catchy riff and regal keyboard solo
Disc 2:
1 - Very straight rhythm with trebly, reverb-washed guitar
2 - Mellow folk-pop with effected male vocals, somewhat Belle and Sebastian
3 - Murky, reverb-heavy nursery-rhyme pop
4 - Rude introduction from the band. Straight-tempo, clean guitar. Ends at -7 seconds, then intro to the next song
5 - Faster than the demo (2), with electric guitar and a female vocal part in the choruses
6 - Cleaner vocals than the demo (3), mostly female, nice harmonies
7 - Lazier than original, with female backing vocals absent
8 - Replaces the drum machine and techno effects with vigorous electric strumming
9 - Fast, with quiet rock guitar. Ends -10 seconds.
10 - Some vocal difficulty but extra vigorous. Ends -6 seconds.
11 - Chanted male vocals, and long jam into noodling at end with intro/explanation to next song.
12 - Rough, growling guitar creates cool contrast with vocal harmonies. Ends -32 seconds
13 - Finishes with bass solo until -53, followed by lots of talking, and a hilarious introduction to the same song again.
14 - Pretty similar to 13, more vigorous toward end. Ends -52. Label information says there's an FCC, but I don't hear it.
15 - Big and pounding, with modified vocals and no female part. Ends -42 with a commentary on 70s revivalism with FCC - "shit"
16 - Stripped-down classic rock, lots of bass drum. Ends -7.
17 - Driving drums and guitar, punk vocals, long instrumental jam for second half