4 Stars | AMG EXPERT REVIEW: Continuing the planned series of releases collecting rarities and unreleased work, Compilation Appearances, Vol. 2 is subtitled "The Ohio Years," reflecting Vanportfleet and company's move to that state, and covers tracks from 1995 to 1999. As with the first volume, there is no one overall mood or atmosphere, reflecting the multiple interests of the group and the varying nature of the projects and compilations they contributed to. The fact that not one but two Christmas carols appear shows that much -- both originally from the seasonal Excelsis collections on Projekt, "We Three Kings" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem" receive thrilling, mysterious reworkings. Turning the former into what almost sounds like a majestic death march, Vanportfleet starts with just himself and minimal backing before launching into a classically lush Lycia arrangement, echo-heavy and haunting. There's also one other cover, and a striking one it is -- "In a Lonely Place," one of the last songs Joy Division wrote before Ian Curtis' death, given an absolutely mesmerizing rendition by Galas and Vanportfleet, a true tribute without being a note-for-note recreation. Opening track "This Brilliant Nightmare" is actually a solo project from Galas, Snowblind, with Vanportfleet singing over a lush, dark synth string orchestration, an attractive combination unlike Lycia's regular work due to the lack of guitars and beats. Other spin-off Lycia groups represented include Estraya, whose "Caterpillar Butterfly," sung by Vanflower, is an early take on the song "Estrella" itself, and the near-white noise "Dome," recorded by Vanportfleet solo as a potential follow-up to his Bleak solo effort. Other cuts of note include two live songs recorded at the Projekt label's 1996 Chicago festival and a variety of outtakes from Estrella planned for a separate release as the El Diablo EP. In all, this welcome release perfectly complements the earlier volume, sure to satisfy fans of Lycia's gloomy, uncompromised art. -- Ned Raggett

Here is a great chance for anyone not familiar with Lycia's later years, "The Ohio Years" to finally hear their wonderful sound. By this time, the sound had developed to a mature and enjoyable quality. The tracks are rare and you would probably have to buy each compilation they appear on to collect them all in any other form. This album is very captivating and demonstrates the very dark, yet dreamy sound that Lycia does so well. From the very beginning of the gloomy "This Brilliant Nighttime" to the very end with the excellent rendition of "O Little Town of Bethlehem". My personal favorite track is the cover of Joy Division's "In A Lonely Place". Lycia brings such an atmosphere to this already dismal-feeling song with the very pronounced and harsh percussion, to the grinding guitars. The live versions of "The Morning Breaks So Cold And Grey" and "Grey Clouds" gives the listener an idea of how clean their live sound is. The instruments blend so well with Mike and Tara's voice, you can imagine they almost become just an extension of themselves. Other treats on this disc, which I also have on the Projekt Excelsis compilations are, "We Three Kings" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem". "We Three Kings" features the help of The Unquiet Void. Both of these are excellent songs, especially for those wintry days as it gets close to the holiday season. There is so much on this disc that you won't want to miss it. Even if you have every album out by this group, there are still special treats here the avid collector will want to have. I highly recommend it to any fans of old-school goth, dark ambient or other Projekt artists.

Continuing to archive Lycia's rarer moments, The Ohio Years is noticeably stronger than the previous volume, which was solid enough. Desolate, bleak and windswept atmospherics, ominous percussion and wails of processed guitars build like slow storms over the fourteen tracks collected from various obscure compilations and previously unreleased recordings, including Lycia's contributions to Projekt's two Christmas collections.

Beginning with the starkly neo-classical This Brilliant Nighttime (which was released as Snowblind, a side project of Lycia member David Galas, to which Van Portfleet contributed vocals), The Ohio Years churns through We Three Kings onward to an astonishing cover of Joy Division's In A Lonely Place, which positively drips with isolation and dour gloom. A pair of live tracks recorded at the 1996 Projekt Festival showcase Lycia's ability to bring their desolation to life on-stage. While not as quite rich as the studio material (though recorded and mixed brilliantly), The Morning Breaks So Cold And Gray and Grey Clouds still resonate with a sharp sense of introspective longing and a more devastating drum sound. The Ohio Years is also notable for Tara VanFlower's membership in the band and her vocal contributions, particularly on the Estrella out-takes, which were to be part of an alternate versions collection called Strange Star. VanFlower's vocals certainly don't lighten up the music, but rather give another ghostly character to the songs, whether as part of the music in Defective or taking a more prominent place on The Devil. The Estrella session tracks don't match the bleak spledour of earlier material like Clouds In The Southern Sky (Sweeping In Like Waves), and rather has a greater musicality, which pushes Lycia a bit too close to familiar goth territory, though still better than the average gothic outfit. A more recent recording from 1998, The Time Passes Quickly, pairs the signature bleak compositions with the more musical structures found on Estrella. Well assembled, but lacking in feeling, which is rare for Van Portfleet's work. Dome, from an aborted Bleak album, Into The Furnace, is more indicative of the chaotic voids and distorted guitar familiar in Lycia's character, and for those who have worn out their copies of Vane, this track will be an essential.

The Ohio Years truly embraces the unique sound Lycia created, and that this material still sounds current as many as five or six years later shows how strong and personal Van Portfleet and company really were. Both Compilation Appearances are quintessential albums for anyone appreciating darkly structured and intensely emotional music.

This marks the release of the second installment of Lycia's compilation appearance collections. This disc, like its predecessor, collects compilation only releases by the band, as well as tracks that were never formally released at all. The first disc collected tracks spanning the years 1990 - 1994, where as this disc collects the years the band was stationed in Ohio, throughout 1995 to 1999. Having always been a greater fan of Lycia's earlier work, I anticipated preferring the first release to this second one, as it was after the release of the band's "Burning Circle & Then Dust" CDs that the bleak intensity of the music was bumped down a few notches to make way for more beautiful ethereal elements. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the second volume was just as good as the first, and just as enthralling. There is an impressive and unmistakable fluidity to this disc, all the tracks perfectly flow into one another and work together to create a solid and excessively dark mood, a quality that was initially what made Lycia so great a success. The overall atmosphere of the CD is simply fantastic. - Matthew

Good old Sam Rosenthal makes sure that not a bit of Lycia's rich legacy remains lost or forgotten. This second collection covers an assortment of material from the time period of Lycia's mournful Cold and their majestic Estrella. This CD also showcases Lycia at their most diverse -- from the harsh darkwave rhythms of "This Brilliant Nighttime‚" to the beautiful foreboding ambience of "Clouds in the Southern Sky (Sweeping in Like Waves)." Also included here is their poignant cover of Joy Division's "In a Lonely Place‚" and the mournful "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" and "We Three Kings" This is a must for fans and an excellent starting point (along with its companion Compilation Appearances I) for the newcomer.--Benja