Till Another Time: 1988-1996

With a knack for writing moody songs that sound like the marriage of early-80s Cherry Red artists like Marine Girls and some very quiet, perfectly constructed jangle pop from later in the decade, Linda Smith recorded a wealth of under-the-radar indie pop gems at home on a four-track recorder in the late 80s and early 90s. Releasing tapes on her own Preference label at first, she joined forces with classic indie labels Harriet, Slumberland, and Feel Good All Over for singles and albums that have easily stood the test of time and, if anything, sound freshly minted on this collection on Captured Tracks. Till Another Time (1988-1996) juxtaposes Smiths earliest, most lo-fi recordings with later work that graduated to a few more tracks and a solid mid-fi rating. Unlike many artists of the era who utilized the hiss and fuzz of cheap cassette recording to make noise a part of their sound, Smith was writing classically constructed pop songs that sounded tinny only because of the medium they were created on. Given a studio full of guitars, strings, and percussion, songs as emotional as Theres A... could have had all the epic power of a Bacharach classic; kitted out with a drum set and the energy of a live band, In This could have had all the punch of the Shop Assistants at their finest. Of course, the home-cooked nature of the recordings is part of their lasting charm, but one shouldnt overlook just how strong the melodies are, how inventive her shoestring arrangements are, or how resonant Smiths lovelorn vocals are. Proof that her songs had enough power to transcend the restrictions of lo-fi come on the tracks here that were recorded for 1996s Nothing Else Matters album. I See Your Face and Ill Never See You Again lose none of their impact from being a little clearer and slightly better recorded. The 1996 version of I So Liked the Spring has absolutely no hiss or warble and is possibly her most impressive recording of all. Captured Tracks does a fine job of presenting all aspects of Smiths work during this short period, and the set should serve as a reminder for the few who appreciated her at the time as well as anyone smart enough to discover her now for the first time. The only thing better than this collection would have been a box set of all her recordings from the era. Till then, this will be just fine. ~ Tim Sendra