The Crucial Collection in Bloomington, MN

Prior to the release of 2007's full-length debut
This Is Animal Music
, Tallahassee indie rockers
Look Mexico
released a pair of EPs, 2005's
So Byzantine
and 2006's
Crucial
, which are gathered here alongside a number of alternative versions and remixes of songs from the album, as well as a pair of otherwise hard to find tracks. As the number of songs that appear on both the EPs and the debut full-length attest, there was no major change in musical direction between the EPs and the album:
is basically a better-sounding and slightly more polished version of the EPs' blend of
Minus the Bear
-style whimsy, post-rocky technical facility, and emo-tinged indie rock earnestness. Similarly, the three alternate versions of album tracks at the collection's end --
"Done and Done,"
"You Ever Get Punched in the Face for Talking Too Much?,"
and
"You Come into My House, While I Sleep?"
-- are not radical revisions so much as they're minor tweaks. Oddly, despite its relatively brief running time and claims of definitiveness,
The Crucial Collection
is not entirely complete: two of the six tracks from
,
"Comin' in Hot with a Side of Bacon"
and a brief early version of the album's
"I Had a Wrench, and I Hit Him,"
are missing. Crucial? Only for the diehard, particularly since both EPs are available through various online services in their original form. But it's a handy one-stop discography builder for the minor fan. ~ Stewart Mason