One of the best discs I have received over the last few months has been a compilation from the excellent D.C.-based Underwater Peoples record label. The record is full of fuzzy, dreamy pop music and features such great bands as Julian Lynch, Real Estate, Ducktails and Liam the Younger. Of all the songs on the disc the best is the frenzied “Mega Secrets” from the band Family Portrait. The track starts out quietly and slowly before building with ringing guitars and echoed vocals pushed forward by simple but effective drum and tambourine rhythm. The pressure builds throughout the song and by the end finds the vocals more intense and the lazy atmosphere of the beginning of the song vaporized in place of more psychedelic and driving finale. The whole compilation—especially “Mega Secrets”—is well worth checking out and shows a rising record label, with some bands we will be hearing a lot more from in the future.

Family Portrait “Mega Secrets” (mp3)

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