Upon their triumphant return to Drag City, the band emptied the vaults of pretty much anything and everything that wasn’t already on a proper album. Though overwhelming in its sprawling 32 tracks (which oddly omits the Hey Drag City compilation track “Delta 70 Of Hearts” for whatever reason), Singles is a great overview of what made Royal Trux so interesting and multifaceted, as well as a strong introduction and overview of their early years. For those willing and brave enough to dive into a deep end that contains Twin Infinitives outtakes, it rewards with some serious knockouts, as well as early singles that are a bit more digestible than their debut LP. End-of-summer anthem (and show-closer during some of their later tours) “Back To School” is definitely a highlight and was even recently covered by of Montreal. The golden nugget of the whole collection might be “Shockwave Rider.” Backed by Casio-powered drumbeat and melodica (!), backward synth and horn effects fade in and out in between Hagerty’s verses recalling a trippy tale of a drug deal gone awry, with Herrema chiming in during the verses, saying something about a telephone. It captures nearly every trick Beck pulled on Mellow Gold, condenses it into one song, and betters it. But there’s also crisp BBC sessions of straight-ahead early numbers, such as “Esso Dame” and “Sometimes,” which equal or surpass their album versions. Finally, Singles seemed to be a medium that Hagerty and Herrema could safely take chances they wouldn’t otherwise take with their long players, including straight-up (and seemingly out of left field) covers of Nelson Nascimiento’s “FacoAmolada,” Jefferson Airplane’s “Law Man,” and Godz track “Womban.” But perhaps the most surprising is “Suicide Is Painless,” otherwise known as the theme song from the show M*A*S*H. Regardless, due to its depth and breadth, Singles is probably best invested in (and likely much more appreciated) once one gets their footing with at least the pre-major label Trux albums.