Underage

It wasn’t that long ago that acts like Modest Mouse and Elliott
Smith were playing at the Old Fire House in Redmond. Things have
changed since the ’90s, of course, but plenty of young bands are still
getting their start playing the small Eastside concert hall.

That emerging talent is showcased on a new compilation CD, available
at any of the OFH’s upcoming shows, called POP425. The CD
is the senior project of Redmond musician Whitney Ballen, who
organized the comp rather than do the usual tree planting or working
with the elderly. Ballen recruited the disc’s 14 artists (including
herself), solicited donations for its pressing, and coordinated its
production (with help from outstanding OFH recording engineer Amanda
Barron) and promotion.

The album kicks off with lively electro party-starter APOC‘s
“Tetris,” a heart-racing dance homage to old-school video games that
taps into the furious intensity of the one-man band’s live show. The
compilation’s highlights include the pop rock of Schoolboy
Gutbuster‘s “Golden Blonde,” the defiance of Generifus‘s
“Nobody Can Tell Me What to Do,” the summer punk cry of
Seahouse‘s “Sleepy Not Sleeping,” and the machine music of
Masters and Johnson‘s “Factory Mishaps.” The only problem with
Ballen’s project is the fact that her own song, “Little Secrets,” is so
irresistibly good that it kind of steals the show, with Ballen’s voice
fluttering and harmonizing over delicately plucked acoustic
guitar—it’s her best recorded work yet.

Individually, the tracks on POP425 all offer something
special, but taken together, they offer a valuable snapshot of a
thriving young music community in bloom.

Fri May 8: Manafest, Braille, Othello at Q Cafe, 8
pm, $7.

Fri May 8: Mania, Wake, Galdr at FBK, 8 pm,
$5.

Sat May 9: Ponytail at the Vera Project, 7:30 pm,
$10 ($9 w/club card).