This compilation, assembled by Stuart Buchanan, opens with a bouncy trio of songs, each melody driven, somewhat glitchy yet pastoral. Telefonica's "Time and Distance" slows things down a bit while retaining crisp digital elements alongside its acoustic piano base. Four songs into this well-sequenced compilation, I should also mention that volumes one and two of New Weird Australia are available for free at newweirdaustralia.com.

Given the "new weird" tag, I was initially surprised at the lack of twisted folk here, but, as Buchanan explains, he's using the terms loosely: "In borrowing (and expanding) ‘new, weird’ terminology, we hope to shrink the notion of distance between innovative Australian artists and their international compatriots; between the dot points on the vast map of our own land and between definitions of genre, taste or style." Cleptocleptics' "Settled For Less" comes close to the original "New Weird" tag, and yet even here, the mix of elements is broader: the overt electronic manipulation of the early tracks remains alongside strings that could be a koto and what may be an mbira.

I've mentioned the overtly digital elements in many of the tracks, and at times, they did begin to grate on me. This is more a matter of personal preference than a complaint. Prior to putting this into my CD player, I hadn't heard any of the included bands. There are some that I'll dig a little deeper into and others that I'll let slide by as part of the comp, but, hey, there's good, unfamiliar (free) music to be had here. Also, I now find myself wondering whether Mouse on Mars, Autechre, and other electronic artists exert a more palpable influence in the Australian experimental scene or whether these artists were grouped together more for the sake of coherence than breadth of coverage. Looks like I'll have to check out the second installment. 7/10 -- Howard Martin (17 September, 2009)