Portland Cream Vol. 1 (Various Artists)

2016 release. Voodoo Doughnut Recordings presents the cream of Portland's current musical crop, produced by Old Town Music's Hank Failing. Failing, an affable tastemaker, released the prescient series of Failing Records comps between 2004 and 2010. Here he returns to the curatorial fray with 22 hand-plucked gems spanning garage rock, indie rock, Tex-Mex, metal, grunge, folk and synthpop. Rising stars such as Mo Troper, underground pop-punk acts such as Kingdom of Smoth and established indie allstars such as Eyelids all stand shoulder to shoulder on Volume 1 of what promises to be a highly anticipated annual local music comp. Featuring original artwork by Vo Mihn McBurney and surprises galore, such as the return of Morgan Grace as a member of Bitch School! Special tip of the hat for including Mike Coykendall who spent several years here at bdc.