Various Artists "All's Fair In Love and Chickfactor"

We love love love Chickfactor magazine. Gail O'Hara's lovely little magazine is always full of interesting people, good music, and fun stuff. Lovely international indie-pop is her specialty, and, like Jack Rabid's Big Takeover, you can rest assured that her opinion is one that not only is to be valued, but also trusted. She balances substance and style as well, which is indeed a rare feat. In fact, I'd like to think that telling you about Chickfactor would be a case of me preaching to the choir, because I'd like to think that everybody reads this awesome little magazine. Of course, we don't think less of you if you haven't heard of Chickfactor; we do recommend that you hurry and grab the new issue, simply because you'll enjoy it terribly, and we want that!

I bought this record for two songs (Magnetic Fields' obscure "I Don't Believe You" and the new Pines scorcher "Kisses and Fog") and was stricken smitten by nineteen others. If you've never read the magazine, and you want a taste of what kind of music they like, then this is THE compilation for you. All's Fair... contains some wonderful pop music from such luminaries as Stuart Moxham, Would-Be-Goods, The Clientele, The Legendary Jim Ruiz, April March, Aislers Set, The Pacific Ocean, amongst others. My personal faves were the sprite pop of Pipas, the bouncy April March's "Mon Ange Gardien," and the foggy Pines. Personally, it's always nice to have Flare make me weep, and LD does an excellent job of inducing quiet soft tears with his new weeper "Where's the Boy That I Once Knew?"

What really makes All's Fair in Love and Chickfactor excellent is the programming--a lost art that really needs to be studied, for a record full of wonderful songs can still be boring if it's not programmed right. Kudos for that! If you really want to know how excellent the record is, though, just look at the smiling ladies on the cover--Gail and the lovely Pam Berry! You'll be smiling that way after one mere listen.

All's Fair in Love and Chickfactor is the magazine's first compilation, and after listening to this little pleasure, I'm left with two questions: 1. Why wait so long to put out a comp record, and, more importantly, 2. When are you putting out the next one, Gail?. So the next time you have a rainy grey Saturday morning, I'd suggest snuggling up with your favorite cat or chihuahua, fix yourself a hot cup of coffee and some coffee cake, and curl up with the new issue of Chickfactor, with All's Fair In Love and Chickfactor on your stereo. You'll quickly be sent on a swooning trip to pop heaven!

--Joseph Kyle