Release the Bats - A Birthday Party Tribute (31G Records)

For those of you who don’t remember or weren’t born yet (like me), Birthday Party featured a man by the name of Nick Cave and were a weird post-punk no-wave band from the early 80s. They had a lot of really interesting material, but like all good bands, broke up. Cut to 2006: 31G decides to honor them by, well, fucking with their songs and releasing a compilation of Birthday Party covers. More than just a “Best Of,” this album is also a great introduction to the 31G label, which consists of bands like Some Girls, Das Oath, The Plot to Blow up the Eiffel Tower, Cattle Decapitation, Ex Models, Melt Banana, Chinese Stars, Kill Me Tomorow, Get Hustle and Daughters. There are a lot of great tracks here, but I think my favorite is the song “Blundertown” covered by the band Year Future. Whether you’re already a fan of Birthday Party or just want to try out something a little new, this is a really interesting introduction to both the band and the label.

– Jeff Kile