Various Artists – Polyvinyl Plays Polyvinyl

Looking back on our 20-year existence, were proud to say that Polyvinyl has never been defined by a particular genre.

From early records that documented the Midwestern emo of American Football, Braid, and Rainer Maria to of Montreals mercurial mining of musical styles, Idas intimate harmonies, Joan of Arcs sonic experimentation, STRFKRs electro-pop, the raucous rock-and-roll of Japandroids, etc. etc. theres no predicting what a new Polyvinyl release will sound like just that its something we love and think you will, too.

And so, to celebrate this diverse discography, we asked 20 members of the Polyvinyl family past and present to cover a song by one of their labelmates. Fittingly, this led to a slew of beloved tracks being re-imagined in a variety of new and surprising ways.

Owen (Mike Kinsella) lends his acoustic guitar picking to Rainer Marias electric siren call Ears Ring, Braid puts a math-y spin on the surf-inflected pop of Alvvays Adult Diversion, and Deerhoof covers Xiu Xiu in the style of White Reaper, because why the hell not?

The biggest question, though, was how to name such an eclectic collection of music.

Turns out the answer was simple: Polyvinyl Plays Polyvinyl.