When XTC initially yelped out the phrase "This Is Pop", they appended a telling question mark to it, which the compilers of this album have panel-beaten into a sturdy, rigid point of exclamation. Nevertheless, the question of whether or not this actually is pop remains wide open. There's a rich seam of British post-punk and New York no wave running through this compilation album on The Warm's Instant Tunes label, with Nemo perhaps covering the most ground all at once and tracks by Org and S Is For Sound pushing the definition of "pop" to somewhat avant-garde extremes, although the term sits more comfortably with the two tracks on offer from The Warm, both of which push forward in a defiantly Fall-esque manner, propelled by lethal twin synths and aggressive, focussed drumming.

Elsewhere there's a fair bit of Wire in the repetitive rhythms of Uri Gagarn and the short-but-sweet noise atacks of Kanashibari, and there are echoes of The Contortions and DNA on tracks by 2up and Gnawnose, but this compilation is not the sound of people recreating the work of their idols; the no wavers may have kicked down the door a long time ago, but this is still the sound of creative musicians discovering new sounds and twisting the forms and structures of rock and pop into fresh shapes. -Ian Martin, Oct.20.04.

This Is Pop!