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VA - Tales From The North Troll N' Roll Records Tracklist: 1. Tales From The North - Squees & Toxic Anger Syndrome & Gubbology 2. Shadowland - Oliveira 3. Huldrehaug - Maan 4. Chaku Hachi - Gubbology 5. Krakestan - Squees vs Gubbology 6. Trollsommar - Cut The Cheese 7. Den Sjunde - Trance-Ingvars 8. Fraxinus Excelsior - Oginok 9. Monsters - Zoon 10. Midnight Carousel Ride - Captain Kirk 11. Shiokara Situation - Discolin 12. Ragnarok - Toxic Anger Syndrome Weird, wild and hella fun, a groovy, drippy, trippy concoction of Scandinavian dark psy, forest, suomi and just a little bit of goa, all in one great, free compilation. "Tales From The North" is refreshing because of its suomi approach that often keeps the weird effects of its dark and forest psy feeling lighthearted and even celebratory. The three-producer intro on the title track finds Squees, Toxic Anger Syndrome and Gubbology employing some serious dancefloor grooves with a pleasant tempo that never gets overwhelming, all served up with a side of wicked forest effects and don't-give-a-shit suomi good-time vibes. A solid and hella fun beginning to the comp. Oliveira takes a much more normalized approach on "Shadowland," serving up a solid little full-on gem with a very pleasant and understated focus on goa effects. Fantastic job on this one, definitely one of the great highlights of the collection. It pairs very nicely with the melodic goa of Maan's "Huldrehaug," a track that, like most things on this compilation, rocks very nicely in its own subtle way. Sure, the energy is always there but nothing ever feels like it is trying to punch you in the head to let you know how important it is. Beginning with Gubbology's cool little groover "Chaku Hachi," an uber-funky track laden with forest effects that are fascinating because of how subdued and effective they are, the compilation goes in more for the weirder side of psytrance, sometimes on tracks that are spectacular, sometimes on tracks that are not. The out-of-control keyboard work on the unhinged energy of "Krakestan" is fantastic but the lazy forest grooves of Cut The Cheese's "Trollsommar" and too-trancey euphoria of Trance-Ingvars "Den Sjunde" don't quite make the grade. Oginok's "Fraxinus Excelsior" is one of the compilation's greats, constantly keeping things just a little off-balance with several direction changes through the first part of the track before settling into some great head-bobbing grooves for its second half. And, man, is it ever fucking easy to dance to. A lovely piece of work! The final four tracks get much deeper into the darker and experimental realms of sound and are best left to the subjective opinions of the individual listener in terms of quality. Sometimes those moments are daring and tantalizing (Zoon), sometimes forgettable (Captain Kirk), sometimes wilder than anything else on the compilation (Discolin), sometimes just plain dismal and angry (Toxic Anger Syndrome). In my opinion, the first half of this compilation is far better (and perhaps more accessible to the common psy listener) than its second half. Many of the finest moments come from Oliveira and Maan during those early tracks but be sure not to miss Oginok, the finest gem of the collection's second part. A quick Ektoplazm search shows a few other Troll N' Roll compilations available for download, many of those with several of the same producers that appear here. After "Tales From The North," you can be sure this will not be the last time this record label and I cross paths. I'm very much looking forward to discovering some other great gems off of those offerings. Available for free play or download at : http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/tales-from-the-north