Danielson - Trying Hartz (Secretly Canadian, 2008)

Danielson
Trying Hartz
Secretly Canadian
2008

Rating: 8.5 nurses uniforms out of 10

Danielson aka Danielson Famile aka Brother Danielson aka Daniel Smith – he seems to be a musician you either love or you hate. Me? I'm heavy on the pro-side...you present me a band or artist that sounds like the Pixies playing crazy religious freak-folk music after sucking on a helium balloon, and I'm one happy camper. This double disc release is a compilation of some of their prize tracks from 1996 to 2004 (which is roughly around the time he retired the “Danielson Famile” moniker and began changing his performing name with each album ala Will Oldham). They managed to get pretty much all of my favorite Danielson songs on this compilation, and the rest of the tracks are pretty swell too. Along with normal studio recordings, you'll also find live tracks and alternate versions to soothe the super-fan palate. There may not be a lot new here for fans that already own all of their releases, but having all these great songs in one spot is a nice option. And for the newbies out there who haven't been witness to this brilliant brand of music, this is a great place to start. A lot of people won't like it, but the handful that do will have a new favorite band.