various artists - Throw (The Yoyo Studio Compilation)

Originally posted September 23, 2020. Reuploaded with a new rip of a previously mint-in-shrink copy.

I've been wanting to share my collection of Yoyo Recordings comps for a while, but I think I never got around to ripping the later releases. I've always liked the way that Pat Maley's recordings have sounded, and appreciated what he's contributed to the 90s Western Washington sound (if there is such a thing). If you got stoked on it, he probably recorded it: Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Unwound, Beat Happening, and Team Dresch all came into YoYo Studios and made records now considered classics. He's always seemed like the perfect person for a band to make their first recordings with.

It seems to be dormant since 2011, but the 30-some-odd releases on Yoyo from 1992 on still hold up really well. Pat released five comps during that period, capturing both a sample of songs he recorded and released. The first is "Throw - The Yoyo Studio Compilation", released on both CD and vinyl. I grabbed this years ago because it had songs from the above bands, but I think it's worth coming back to for songs from the lesser-known bands. Whether it's the lead-off song from Olympia's Kicking Giant, channelling the K/53rd & 3rd vibe of late 80s indie pop, or Anacortes' Gravel, going grungier, these songs just stick in my brain. The standout for me remains one of the earliest artifacts from Heavens to Betsy. Corin Tucker's voice is SO big on this track; even if I had heard it before I heard "Calculated", I still would have thought that she would have become a big deal.

Discogs

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