Whenever someone announces a new compilation of vintage power pop two things happen inside my addled brain. The first is that I get excited about the possibility of hearing some tracks I've never heard before. The second, and I'm not arguing that this is in any way rational, is that I get a little snotty toward the project and it's steward. "What makes him such an expert?" "That's not even rare!" "Their other 45 is way better." "This'll probably be crap." And most importantly, "Why don't they ever ask me?"

Such were my feelings when I spied Yellow Pills: Prefill in the shop today. "Curated" by former fanzine editor Jordan Oakes, it's a handsomely packaged double CD on Numero Records, a label that has done some very interesting compilations devoted to indie soul labels. "Yeah but are the tracks any good?" I was sneering as I popped it in the CD player at my desk. 45 minutes later I was heading over to the ATM to get some cash to take it home. It's just terrific. If you're a fan of the genre, you know what to expect here: lots of pronouns in the song titles, fake British accents, silly shirts. Easily one of the best compilations of its kind, right up there with the best of the Teenline series from Hyped2Death. The only thing better would be a CD-R of all my favorites. Wait, I have several of those...

Here's a track from one of them. The Shake Shakes were from California, and made two 45s. You don't want the other one. I think the way the opening guitar riff pulls back behind the beat ever so slightly lends the song a certain gravity. Maybe it could be slotted onto the next Yellow Pills: Prefill, although the very idea of a second volume seems too good to be possible.