A true miscellany is a random mix of things. Think jumble sale. By contrast, our melodic miscellany does contain consistent themes but the variety can be found in the execution. Here are a few collections where a wide variety of contributors work their magic in oh so many ways.

This long-player named Pet Sounds is not what you expect. No Beach Boys, no Brian Wilson. Instead what you get is a collection of 15 tunes, all focused on various kinds of pets. The range of styles here maps all over the indie rock scene, from the upbeat shoe-gaze of Lande Hekt’s “Lola,” to the baroque whispery pop of Railcard’s “Foxy,” to the deadpan talk-singing of The Burning Hell’s “Kings of the Animal Kingdom.” Some of what appears here is just full-on fun, like Gay Skeleton Club’s mesmerizing “2 Cats.” Late nineties indie hipsters will undoubtedly recall The Magnetic Fields’ “Fido, Your Leash is Too Long.” Tugboat Captain’s “Rufus” and Sassyhiya’s “Crayon Potato” provide a country turn while Brian Bilston and the Caternary Wires give off a Velvet Underground “The Gift” vibe on “Under a Cat” (sans the terminal ending). Despite the most tenuous of thematic links joining them together, Pet Sounds really is a solid collection. Though if I had to single out just a few cuts my personal faves trend toward the groovy guitar pop stylings of The Cords on “Bo’s New Haircut” and especially Special Friend’s “Breakfast.” I’m also drawn to the introspective “Dark Age” from Caleb Nichols and winsome “Marjorie Says” by US Highball.

Wild Honey Records Sampler 2026 gives you a snapshot of 19 different acts currently on the label. These sorts of compilations can be pretty hit and miss, often covering more stylistic ground than any one listener can withstand or offering an uneven mix in terms of the quality of the tunes themselves. But not this LP, not with this roster of talent. The songs here are strong while the collection sounds coherent stylistically without tending toward sameness. Things break out strongly with opening cut “One Day” from the wall-of-guitars bangers Radioactivity. Solid rockers Bee Bee Sea keep the amps twisted right to 11 on “Holy Money.” There’s plenty of party approved dancing numbers here, like Oddfellows’ pumping “The Burden.” Of course, my own tastes run to those selections that crank up the pop quotient on their rocking out. Radio Days offer up driving lead guitar runs and enticing hooks on “I Won’t Give Up.” Crocodiles have a more guitar-rock combo sound akin to the early 1980s new wave with  “Let’s Be Strangers.” On “Three” Conspiracy of Owls even manage to dig out a  neo-Merseybeat feel. I could go on and on for each tune here, the quality is that consistent over the whole record.

Pete Ham wrote or co-wrote most of Badfinger’s big hits (e.g. “No Matter What,” “Baby Blue,” and “Without You”) and left behind an amazing catalogue of both released and unreleased compositions when he died by his own hand in 1975.  Just Look Inside the Cover: Songs of Pete Ham honours that legacy, bringing together an impressive roster of 21 different indie artists to re-interpret those songs. Stylistically, it’s almost as if the acts have divided his sonic territory amongst themselves, covering the different periods when Ham was composing. The opening salvo from Mike Delevante is a wonderful acoustic guitar-heavy, early 1970s version of “A Lonely Day.” Sharp Pins recreate the lush mid-1970s power pop sound on “Just How Lucky We Are.” Then Richard Barone (of the Bongos, backed here by the Midnight Callers) channels 1965 on his sixties-perfect rendition of “I’m Only Human.” The 1970s were known for a particular brand of pop polish and Rob Bonfiglio and The Parlophonics apply that liberally to “Hand in Hand” and “Makes Me Feel Good” respectively. Another strong seventies stylistic motif was a loose, almost careening rock and roll vibe and that definitely appears on Bob Jackson’s take on “Just Look Inside the Cover” and Mic Harrison’s version of “A Little Bit of Rock and Roll.” Again, we have here a collection that never misses a step, though I won’t comment on everything. But my own personal fave is Bill Lloyd’s timeless poprock rendering of “Our Song.”

It’s good to mix things up and stretch our sense of what might appeal to us. That’s where compilation albums do most of the work. If the cover caught your eye, there’s probably something inside you’ll really like and whole lot else you could stand to discover.

Photo courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.