Compiled by This Aint Vegas 6-stringer Richard Amundsen 'Twice The Town You'll Ever Be' is a lovingly assembled collection of tracks from the North East’s finest underground indie-rock treasures, and is precisely the kind of compilation that has me rueing the day I ever moved down to the smoky, non-cultural maze of concrete and suits that is London. From the very start this compilation bristles with modest talent and soul-prickling passion, developed in a potent indie-punk DIY community and made all the more inspirational given the music industry’s infamously London-centric tendencies.

It’s an eye-opening, ear-popping listen right from the start as scene-breakers The Futureheads shoot straight for the jugular with an early version of the shifty, hip-jerking call-and-response anthem ‘A to B’, fittingly shouting out against everyday complacency. And thus the lo-fi smorgasbord of John Peel-playlist-tempting tunes snowball into your hearts, Red Monkey’s sunburst of funk and earthy indie-girl vocals continuing the theme with their contribution. “Work is a religion of money and buying is its altar”, explains vocalist Rachel in the sleeve, “It scares the health out of me." Which seems an accurate enough representation for most of the musicians on this CD and probably the indie-rock scene as a whole, the CD filled with music created by young people for the simple reason that they’re creating music totally unaffected by some outside money-hungry corporation and in effect, constantly fuelling that awesome feeling of buying a small-run 7” without the interference of some huge marketing campaign.

Neville Clay’s wonderfully poignant acousticism is definitely the stand-out track here as he lyrically recalls the emotions running through Tony Robinson’s head in a particularly gripping episode of Time Team that, seriously, very nearly brought a tear to my eye. Elsewhere, Paper Cut Out and Written From Negative’s sprightly post-punk attacks reaffirm their status as the UK’s best kept secrets while Mavis’ hushed beat-pulsing ode about “the only thing worth going stir fucking crazy over, namely THE girl” adds a warm, personal touch to a disc already bursting with a warm sense of community among its artists.

As Amundsen notes, “TTT suggests you ignore us at your peril. It’s our voice of defiance, a resonant cry of regional pride.”

Given the incredible talent on display here I don’t think he should worry too much.