A Skep Wax compilation featuring some of the finest indie pop bands around right now? Including Add To Wantlist favorites like The Cords, Brian Bilston and The Catenary Wires, U.S. Highball, Jetstream Pony, Swansea Sound, Special Friend, Railcard, and The Burning Hell? And every single song is about pets? Say no more. Let me just wait for my cat to stop sitting on the keyboard long enough to place an order.

As much as Gorilla Biscuits’ Cats and Dogs and Youth of Today’s No More remain a part of my diet, there is a special joy in hearing a bunch of brilliant songwriters devote their talents to the furry little weirdos that run our households. These are songs about companionship, unconditional love, minor destruction, and the strange reality that many of us happily rearrange our lives around animals who contribute very little to the mortgage.

If you’ve ever had a cat refuse to move from your lap, a dog greet you like you’ve returned from war after a ten-minute trip to the supermarket, or found yourself talking to a pet as if it were a roommate, there is plenty here to recognize. The talksinging Under A Cat by Brian Bilston and The Catenary Wires is worth the price of admission alone. Swansea Sound’s I Don’t Like Men In Uniform even lets a traumatized animal have its say.

This is not the kind of compilation where every track is exclusive to the compilation, but that’s hardly the point. What you get are 15 excellent songs about cats, dogs, and the humans they’ve successfully trained over the years.

Honestly, if you’re going to make a themed compilation, this is exactly how you do it. LP available for pre-order now, and go visit the release show on London on July 9th if you are in the vicinity.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp