Volume 1 of From the Mountains to the Sea is an exceptional introduction to some of the best music you haven’t heard yet.

Lavender Sweep Records is run by “a small group of people from the Welsh city of Swansea, with a shared love for forgotten musical formats, film and various forgotten fads…” That adds up. Now, I don’t know the first thing about the heavy music scene in Swansea. That’s why this new compilation from is perfect for me. I have no preconceptions when I press play on From the Mountains to the Sea. I just hear what I hear.

The first track is a banger by Acrimony called “Satellite 13.” Up-tempo guitar-driven music that hits all the right spots. The perfect starter. Taint is next and it has a whole different take on the world. Much more in the sludge lane, the vocals are coarse and doom is the keystone. And then Sootbelly hits he stage with “Girls ’N Cars,” a four-minute rager on the title subjects. By now you’re going and it’s time for another beer. These three bands together would be a great show.

There are eighteen tracks on this album, each one an eye-opening discovery and not a single dud in the bunch. There is a metric ton of great music here, so picking favorites is a chore, but I will say I am enamored with Buffalo Kings, Sump, Sigiriya, and Sons of Thunder. I had to cut this list way down from where it started, just to keep it manageable.

Without this set I might have missed these bands entirely, but now they are on my radar. The range of musical styles is broad indeed while remaining in the heavy music realm. You definitely want to hear this. Recommended.

From the Mountains to the Sea is out on Friday November 12^th through Lavender Sweep Records. Check it out at the links below.

Links.

Website, http://www.lavendersweeprecords.com/

Bandcamp, https://lavendersweep.bandcamp.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/Lavender-Sweep-Records-748698365283653