In 1998, HUSH opened shop, fueled by the burgeoning technology of CD burners. In the ten years since, HUSH has subsisted on the passion and community of the Portland music scene. But they are offering a gift not just to local fans and friends, but to the entire world. DECA: A HUSH 10th Anniversary Compilation is a tribute to the changing record industry, and a small and beautiful peek into the long list of wonderful acts HUSH has worked with over the years. And it is as free as you want it to be.

We’ve decided to offer this exclusively as a digital download because we’re intrigued by the idea of creating something that takes up more space in your heart and your head than in your house, or in our house, or on the postal truck.

This naked mix is a smattering of the tracks offered on DECA. If you hear even one moment of one song that you like, I implore you to go to the website and download the entire compilation. (If only for the Colin Meloy track you won’t hear anywhere else.)

1. Novi Split - Hollow Notes - There is that inevitable point in the generic Hollywood romantic comedy when the star boyfriend does something terrible to his star girlfriend and loses her, seemingly forever. Filled with anger as he is thrown out of his own apartment, he walks the streets aimlessly, realizing he has lost the one thing that matters most in the world: love. Slowly this regret melts into determination, and he rushes back to reclaim her heart in hand.

This is those moments wrapped up in a song; not because the song is saccharine or banal, but because, like those scenes, they tug at your heart despite their predictability. They hit just the right notes, reach just the right crescendos, have just the right feeling to accompany those weak journeys home at night.

4. Run on Sentence - The Afterlife Pt. 1

7. Norfolk & Western - Hiding Home

10. Loch Lomond - Elephants & Little Girls

21. Casey Dienel - Asleep at the Wheel

27. Dat’r - Humm-na

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