A collection of the band's singles recorded between 1991 and 2002, the album is a crackling, emotionally draining selection of warped, lo-fi pop songs that draw from the heyday of punk, the height of the American Underground, golden age standup comedy, early Flying Nun, the mighty Wipers and the Who. It's stark, intense music that cuts to the bone, documenting fevered dark nights of the soul with guitars, drums, and an occasional dollop of junkshop electronics.

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Scott Sendra started the band in 1991 in Ypsilanti, MI, an oasis of trailer parks next to Ann Arbor, moved to East Lansing in 1992, and then to Philadelphia, PA where the band folded in the early 2000s. Down -- known as downmf after Philip Anselmo from Pantera bought the name from them -- played plenty of striking live shows and released a handful of powerful records during their lifetime, creating music that was deliberate but muscular, fierce but never histrionic, and hit with the musical impact of a baseball bat but with an unexpected sinewy grace. down were strong, but they were smart, and neither side compromised the other.

Critically Acclaimed is a collection of 13 tracks taken from the band's five singles. The band's first two releases, 1991's Ride the Pine and 1992's Royal Crown, were hit-packed no-fi gems recorded in the Sendra family basement in Loch Alpine, a leafy subdivision outside of Ann Arbor, and released on Sendra's own Bonehead Rex. The scene shifts to East Lansing for 1995's Solid State single, a one-two punch of brilliant "punk" songs that barely lasted a minute each and came in a sleeve with a radio circuit board glued to the front. 1996's Toast of the Town single showed the band playing with some real crash-pop power on the A side and some hard fought sensitive soul on the flip. Their 2002 swan song, The Law of Diminishing Returns, was recorded in Philly and maddeningly, amazingly, featured their most intricate and emotionally powerful songs yet packaged in a sandpaper lined sleeve that ruined the vinyl after one majestic spin.

This is music that's lo-fi, but it's not sloppy. The songs are moody without descending into self-pity. The lyrics made clear this songwriter had no illusions, but the music is full of life, and played with heart and steely focus by Sendra (guitar and vocals) and a handful of worthy collaborators -- the Ypsilanti band of Christopher "Chip" Porter on bass and R. Scott Kelly on drums, the East Lansing band of Brian Widdis on bass and drummer Pat Bills on drums, and the Philadelphia group of bassist Janna Sendra, drummer Peter Hanley and percussionist/keyboardist Damian Elias.

Fred Thomas, known for his work with Saturday Looks Good To Me and as a solo artist, and a longtime down MF fan, helped to restore and remaster the original recordings for the newly formed Ann Arbor-based Loch Alpine Records, and Critically Acclaimed gives these songs a new lease on life.

Listen here - soundcloud.com/user-498695227/sets/down-critically-acclaimed