Local do-gooders make good

Minor 7 Studios and Pop for Charity are preparing to release Friends with Benefits, a 16-track collection of unreleased songs by Twin Cities bands. The proceeds will go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The acts are mostly indie-pop and folk-tinged and include the Owls, Mike Gunther, Heavy Sleeper, the Idle Hands, Romantica, the Hang Ups, Autumn Leaves, Spaghetti Western, the Deaths, and others. All of the tracks were produced by Dave Anderson, who did the Spaghetti Western album. So far the album sounds pretty good, I'm particularly into the Idle Hands' Only Ones-like "Sunshine on the Testaments." There will be release parties for the CD on August 12 (Nomad) and 13 (Triple Rock).