Pitchfork

Little known fact: Jade Tree originally planned this as a two-part sampler. For every rock and punk band on the label (Challenger, From Ashes Rise), there's someone who's liable to be found sitting on a stool, quietly strumming (Pedro the Lion, Onelinedrawing). So what Jade Tree decided to do is to release two samplers-- one full of their heavier bands, one full of their quieter ones. The heavy one, entitled The Standing Sampler, was pressed first, and came off without a hitch. But unfortunately, Jade Tree didn't think ahead.

It's been reported that the collective forehead-slap that occurred at the label's offices, after 1,000 copies of The Stool Sampler had been pressed and someone finally noticed the unfortunate allusion of the title, reached decibel levels that cracked windows and awakened babies up to five city blocks away. The entire project was scrapped amid much blame-shifting and recrimination, and leaked copies of The Standing Sampler are going for upwards of fifty dollars on eBay. The Stool Sampler, so heavily suppressed that it can't even be found on Soulseek, will live on in the hearts and minds of fans for decades to come-- mythically enlarging by dint of its absence, like the missing endings of Kafka novels.

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. But not in this case. Jade Tree has announced that they're releasing a new sampler in April, one that has no gimmicky concepts or scatological references whatsoever (caveat: there may, actually, be scatological references-- I haven't heard the whole thing-- but probably not). Location is Everything, Vol. 2 is available for pre-order via the Jade Tree website right now, and will hit stores April 20th. In addition to offering curious Jade Tree dilettantes an overview of the label's wares, it has a little something for established fans as well-- bonus tracks featuring live recordings, demos, and unreleased cuts from Cex, Pedro the Lion, From Ashes Rise, Paint It Black, Statistics, and Onelinedrawing. Behold the mighty tracklist as it ripples through negative space:

01 These Arms Are Snakes: "Riding the Grape Dragon"
02 Cex: "Kill Me"
03 Strike Anywhere: "Infrared"
04 Statistics: "Hours Seem Like Days"
05 Paint It Black: "Womb Envy"
06 Denali: "Hold Your Breath"
07 From Ashes Rise: "Reaction"
08 Onelinedrawing: "We Had a Deal"
09 Challenger: "Input the Output"
10 Ester Drang: "The Greatest Thing"
11 Kid Dynamite: "Heart a Tact"
12 Fury: "Resurrection"
13 Joan of Arc: "Dead Together"
14 Milemarker: "The Banner to the Sick"
15 Jets to Brazil: "You're the One I Want"
16 From Ashes Rise: "Bloodlust" [live]
17 Cex: "Cut Wrists" [previously unreleased]
18 Pedro the Lion: "I Do" [demo version]
19 Paint It Black: "The Pharmacist" [live]
20 Statistics: "Another Space Song" [previously unreleased]
21 Onelinedrawing: "Rapture" [previously unreleased]