Black Tambourine

When Black Tambourine formed in 1989, they were arguably the first US band directly influenced by the DIY aesthetic of the British C86 scene. They didn't last long or release much, but Black Tambourine were the Ur-text of American twee pop: literally dozens of bands owe their existence to their scrappy, lo-fi blend of buzzing guitars and deliberately naive vocals. (Directly, in many cases:  between them, Pam Berry, Mike Schulman, Brian Nelson and Archie Moore -- who traded guitar, bass and drum duties seemingly at whim -- were in nearly every band in the Washington DC area in the early '90s.) With acts like The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Dum Dum Girls, and Bricolage spearheading a twee pop revival, this 20th anniversary compilation sounds uncannily prescient: many young bands would love to write songs as simple and endearing as "For Ex-Lovers Only" or the backhanded Pastels tribute "Throw Aggi Off the Bridge." This 16-track set includes not only all of Black Tambourine's singles and compilation appearances, but a pair of demos and four surprisingly excellent new recordings (including covers of Suicide's "Dream Baby Dream" and Buddy Holly's "Heartbeat") of songs the band performed live back in the day.