Say Nothing to No One: A Soundless Records Compila

Most of the artists on this nine-song compilation of previously unreleased recordings play experimental electro material with only a tangential relation to the indie rock scene, though there are some more song-oriented exceptions. Foremost among those is Jessica Bechtold's "At Least Pretend," which is the best track here, with its yearning vocals, evanescent backup singing, and cloudy-day, piano-based melody. Nate Ruth's "Heralded," too, is decent, moody, early 21st century alternative rock, though with a more conventional guitar-grounded sound. Much of the rest of it, though, is instrumental, often heavily electronic, with none-too-imaginative riffs, ideas, or textures, sometimes verging on the noisily annoying (like Jonathan Heathcote's "Sure Juror," where wiggling and burping electronics fight it out with near-buried chanted vocal phrases). It's diverse, but not too strong or distinctive.