Compilation comes off cliquey

The Austin music scene is known for being The Live Music Capital of The World. Which means it can be tough to navigate due to an over saturation of great bands and worthwhile artists.

That's why Gerard Cosloy, long time partner in Matador records, a prominent staple of 90's indie rock who put out releases from luminaries such as Pavement, Guided By Voices, and Yo La Tengo, finally decided to do something about it.  Cosloy has been an Austin resident for the last six years, and this year he and Matador attempted to highlight the best rock and roll bands in the Austin bar scene with their Casual Victim Pile (an anagram of "Live Music Capital") compilation.

Its release was celebrated with three days of CD release shows at Beerland featuring most of the bands on the album.

Rather than be an all encompassing view of Austin's music, CVP, much like Cosloy's past two regional compilations, is an admittedly insular look at Austin's rock music scene. The criteria for the compilation is simple: club level competency and a general rock ‘n' roll sound with vague tinges of punk and garage rock.

While Cosloy makes a point in interviews to state that the compilation's sound is varied, the stylistic ground covered here can be also be found in a single Black Lips album.

There are no true surprises to be held sonically, so the album stands on its songs, which are fair but quickly fade from memory.

The album's best track comes from Austin's The Persimmons' who's scuzzy "The Notice" features some actual danger, with its cheesy keyboards, and creepy processed vocals.

Its hard to tell who this compilation is for. Fans of the label probably won't find much of interest here. Those who hold "keep Austin weird" as a personal motto will be bored.  The lack of a strong blues or Americana influence means there is nothing explicitly Texan about these bands, so the album has a sort of regional anonymity. Austin's great female groups like the Carrots and Yellow Fever are also sadly underrepresented.

In short, those who follow this sort of thing probably already know all these bands. One of the biggest perks of being in Austin is the musical variety of its scene, which makes it a shame to see Casual Victim Pile pick from offerings that sound so similar. So if you're looking for a decent rock act to check out at a bar, Casual Victim Pile is a passable, if narrow, guide.