The art of the compilation is a tricky one.  Assembling worthwhile and representative tracks from label bands, or creating a playlist of favourite songs from various labels into a cohesive flow is harder than a band putting an album together.  Samplers are specifically designed to pique interest from the listener.  Throw a few bad songs into the mix and you risk shutting down the listener.  The goal is to be so good that you rival complete albums with a healthy selection of great songs that will interest the listener completely.  Do it right, and that listener will investigate either the bands more closely or will look into a label’s catalogue. 

P is For Panda is a clothing line nurtured by previous label owner, Chad Pearson, who had left The Militia Group, a music company that he founded and ran for 12 years.  Tagged up with pal, Louis Posen, who runs Hopeless Records, Pearson found eight bands that excited him musically, requisitioned two ‘best tracks’ from each and released them in an introductory fashion called Mix Tape, Volume One. The goal of Mix Tape, Volume 1 from P is for Panda, is to assemble a playlist of intriguing unsigned bands, and interest you in any or all of the represented bands’ works.

This collection has quite a few interesting bands that, frankly, have some very good songs here.  From the folky Andy Shauf (“Your Heart,” “You Remind Me”) to the gravelly-voiced Springsteen-like Gasoline Heart (“Shake It Off,” “Burn Bright (But Burn Far Away)”) to the contagious pop of Discover America (“Miles of Grey,” “How It Started”), this album is pleasing.  The music of Damion Suomi (“Darwin, Jesus, The Devil, and Me,” “One More Time”) will run R.E.M. through your mind a bit.

One thing that all artists on this set have in common is their devoted sound of Alt-Country Americana in every song.  Pearson’s playlist known as Mix Tape, Vol 1 is a great bargain of music, retailing at only $1.98, digitally and physically.  For more information, check out not only the P is For Panda and Hopeless Records websites, but run some of these mentioned names through MySpace for a sample or two.