So, is All Tomorrow's Parties 1.1 a reference to the William Gibson novel, the Velvet Underground, or a comment on futurist technology and its placement in musical culture? Probably all the above. When it comes down to it, though, ATP 1.1 is a delectably moody compilation of fringe musical heroes curated by default leader, Sonic Youth -- and their fingerprints are all over this thing. Created initially to accompany the All Tomorrow's Parties events held in Los Angeles and England, the end result stands alone as a fine document of artists that generally do not receive mass culture support. The tracks are all previously unreleased gems from such names as Stereolab, Bardo Pond, Stephen Malkmus, Cannibal Ox, and of course Sonic Youth -- their song kicks ATP 1.1 off in low drive. "Fauxhemians" is a quirky instrumental that clangs and bops along with the Sonic Youth sense of music on the verge of derailment. Then Unwound presents "Behold the Salt," a thick, dark instrumental which drops into a mid-paced Stephen Malkmus tune. Stereolab's "Old Lungs" takes the cake though. This track blows away anything that was on their fine Sound Dust LP of 2001 with a space-age funk that could go on for days without tire. The breadth of this comp reads quite a bit like a Sonic Youth ideal world. From the searching instrumentals to the noise barrage that fulfills the last third of All Tomorrow's Parties 1.1, their established ascetics are well represented. Moreover, the ATP series is starting to leave behind the flavor of the times on disc and for posterity much in the way the Just Say Yo series of the late '80s/early '90s did. ~ Jack LV Isles, All Music Guide