Songs from the Underground, a compilation of artists from "the world's most diverse music venue," plays, unfortunately, much like a typical trip on the subway. Maybe there's a vibraphonist (Sean McCaul's "Strazz") playing something vaguely soothing, though it's hard to hear over the grating brakes - but it's okay because it's not that great anyway. And there'll probably be something at the next stop, maybe a four-woman Finlandian musical collective (Kaiku: "Puhurin Poika") singing something sort of sweet and haunting, but pretty monotonous - and doesn't Bjork do that, like, a hundred times better?

With a few exceptions - Theo Eastwind's "High" (a Jeff Buckley imitator, but aren't they all?), and the raw, country beauty of Jason Green's aptly titled "Little Blue Cart Blues" - most of Underground is derivative and forgettable, reminding you that something much larger and more important is going on upstairs. 

'Songs from the Underground' Web site

Headset Productions Web site

Behind the scenes