Score!: 20 Years of Merge Records Various Artists (Merge)

Score!: 20 Years of Merge Records Various Artists (Merge)

One of the most reliable indie labels in the U.S. celebrates its 20th anniversary by inviting friends and fans of the label to cover their favourite tracks in the Merge catalogue, and the results are mixed. Perhaps it says something about the quality of Merge releases that even the likes of Death Cab For Cutie, Ryan Adams and Broken Social Scene have trouble improving on the originals. Highlights include two stellar covers of underrated songwriter Chris Lopez, of Tenement Halls and the Rock*A*Teens, who gets star treatment here from the Shins and the New Pornographers. Another grossly underrated songwriter, Eric Bachmann of Crooked Fingers, is served well by a duet from The National and St. Vincent, and the reclusive East River Pipe is resuscitated by both Okkervil River and the Mountain Goats. Those tracks are all worth downloading individually; otherwise, you're better off tracking down the originals or waiting for this compilation's companion piece, featuring remixes of Merge material by an all-star line-up.