Worthwhile CD compilations are increasingly hard to come by, but LTM‘s Auteur Labels series seems to consistently nail it, offering packages which are well-presented, illuminating and authoritative.

The Auteur Labels series celebrates imprints which had a cultural and editorial impact above and beyond the mere fact of their releasing good music. Previous instalments have looked at New Hormones, Factory Benelux (the Belgian offshoot of Manchester’s Factory Records) and Les Disques Du Crépuscule.

On May 3 LTM will release Auteur Labels: Independent Project, paying tribute to a label which we’re not too familiar with but are keen to learn more about. Independent Project was a post-punk imprint founded by Bruce Licher in Los Angeles, 1980. Licher was a member of cult industrial outfit Savage Republic; you may remember that Shackleton, a fan of the group, worked with its singer Jackson Del Rey on the 2007 Crosstown Rebels 12″ ‘Next To Nothing’.

Independent Project has released records by a diverse glut of acts from the American underground, including For Against, Alison Halo, Camper Van Beethoven and Savage Republic themselves. Its releases are also notable for Licher’s stunning, distinctive letterpress artwork (see above for a particularly fine example).

Auteur Labels: Independent Project collects 23 remastered tracks from the years 1980-2010, and features a detailed liner notes and archive images. More info here.

Tracklist:
01 SAVAGE REPUBLIC The Ivory Coast
02 HUMAN HANDS Dilemmas
03 PARTY BOYS Jim Jones
04 TEN FOOT FACES Don’t Want Love
05 CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN Take The Skinheads Bowling
06 FOR AGAINST Shine
07 DECEPTION BAY Fence And Flag
08 ABECEDARIANS Benway’s Carnival
09 SAVAGE REPUBLIC O Andonis
10 WOO Down Town Suburbia
11 INDIAN BINGO Separation Days
12 RED TEMPLE SPIRITS New Land
13 AUTUMNFAIR So Far From God
14 FOURWAYCROSS Halloween
15 HALF STRING Eclipse
16 TONE The Power Of Introspection
17 ALISON HALO Dozen
18 SCENIC Sage
19 JEFFREY CLARK Exploded View
20 SPRINGHOUSE Moving Van
21 BRUCE LICHER Life Begets A Reprise
22 PROJECT 197 Nine
23 BRIDGE Underground, Part 4 + Bridge