Monorail Fence Monorail, Various Artists

reviewed by anna battista

What do you do when somebody you know opens a shop, do you bring them a present, flowers, what? The Fence Collective, this Fife based group of musicians which is slowly but relentlessly becoming more legendary day by day, decided to make a special present to Monorail, a Glasgow based record shop: when the shop opened, they presented it with a unique compilation containing twelve tracks from some of their best artists.

The compilation (which is almost 60 minutes long), opens with "Missionary" by Onthefly, a soothing dreamy instrumental soundscape with loads of samples, then continues with the sweet "Little Heart" by The Pictish Trail and with the acoustic ballad "Going Gone" by King Creosote. Tracks by Hillfolk, Lucky Luke, Immigrant and Prince William's Golf Band are also included in the album. The best track on this very special compilation is "Clock" by Radio F.e.n.c.e, a 10-minute track, which feels like listening to a radio and skipping channel every half minute or so.

Monorail Fence Monorail has only one flaw: it is highly addictive, so after listening to it, you might want to visit the Fence site and buy any record on it. Don't say we didn't warn you then.

{www.fencerecords.com, www.monorailmusic.com}

Issue 21, March 2004