Various | Thai Beat A Go-Go Volume 2 |Subliminal Sounds | Thailand

I was flipping through the CD bins at Hardboiled in Chicago's Roscoe Village the other day and had one of those moments that keep us going to music shops and flipping through bins. As another jewel case of same-same swung forward to hit its predecessor with a satisfying clack, a Thai gem was revealed. Five leggy, miniskirted, painted ladies danced beneath the words "Thai Beat A Go-Go: Groovy 60's Sounds from the Land of Smile!" Beneath their little heels it read, "Volume 2."

Volume Two? I didn't know there was a Volume One. It looked like I may have stumbled onto a mini windfall of Asian sixties sounds, something that's become an increasingly frequent occurrence lately. For fans of Group Sounds, eleki, Cambodian Rocks, the Mao Sound and whatever other labels get affixed to the vocal and instrumental dance music that briefly flourished throughout East and Southeast Asia, it's an exciting time. New CD compilations have been emerging and copies of originals LPs are popping their vinyl heads up in cyberspace. It's open season a go-go and the hunting is fine.

I came home with this day's quarry and was not disappointed with what I heard. As I've come to expect from Asian oldie comps, Thai Beat 2 features a number of amusing renditions of Western pop hits. I guess there's no avoiding this, as people love cover tunes and the economic potential of a Thai Elvis impersonator doing "All Shook Up" is probably too much for any label to resist. Same goes for the Thai Chipmunk version of "Your Cheatin' Heart," I guess. I do really enjoy the cognative dissonance of hearing two men sing Serge Gainsbourg's soft porn classic "Je T'aime Moi Non Plus," despite the lack of moaning and an apparent change of subject matter in the Thai lyrics to environmental conservation. Still, it's not the covers that excite me about this CD, but a handful of absolutely strange and wonderful originals...

This is the point where I explain to you that Morrissey had an uncle named Kabuan Moogda, lead singer for a sixties Thai garage band. That is the only acceptable explanation for the uncanny aural resemblance heard in Kabuan's croon on the song "Wairoon." The music sounds something like members of Can and Chicago forced to perform Ethiopian jazz after each drinking a bottle of NyQuil. With Morissey on vocals. And cowbell solos. It might be the greatest song I've heard so far this year.

Another highlight is Waipot Petsuwan's "Mia Chaa," a repetitious, trance-inducing piece of Southeast Asian folk pop that sounds a lot like old school Indonesian dungdut. Unlike the rest of this collection, this tune clearly has one foot planted in the countryside, perhaps bearing some influence of the molan music of Northern Thailand. It would be really interesting to hear more cuts like this.

Then there's T. Zchien and the Johnny with a song as impenetrable as their name. "Let Your life Be Free" is a druggy, flutey spaceout that pulls a page from the more contemplative moments of King Crimson or Brazilian Tropicalia or maybe the fucking Hobbit for all I know. (Did I mention how nicely mushrooms grow on moist Thai morning?)

So, in a nutshell, the covers on Thai Beat A Go-Go Volume 2 will amuse you and the originals will re-wire your auditory cortex. I can't wait for Volume One.