Easily one of the best-value releases of the CD age, Darla 100 -- unsurprisingly the 100th release on said California indie rock/dream pop label -- presents an astonishing four full CDs worth of rarities, selections, and other material from the label archives for the price of a single CD. It's perfectly pitched to neophytes as well as hardcore label fans who have literally everything. The first three discs draw on albums, the noted Little Darla Has a Treat for You label sampler series, singles, and more to create an overall ...
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Easily one of the best-value releases of the CD age, Darla 100 -- unsurprisingly the 100th release on said California indie rock/dream pop label -- presents an astonishing four full CDs worth of rarities, selections, and other material from the label archives for the price of a single CD. It's perfectly pitched to neophytes as well as hardcore label fans who have literally everything. The first three discs draw on albums, the noted Little Darla Has a Treat for You label sampler series, singles, and more to create an overall view of the label over its first six years. Representing bands like the Grifters, Flowchart, Isan, Orange Cake Mix, Bright, Mirza, Guided By Voices, and Piano Magic, among many others, it's a detailed, nearly obsessive portrait of Darla's many different twists and turns over the moons. The fourth disc, meanwhile, contains completely unreleased tracks, a further bonus for newcomers and the perfect incentive for completists. There are two collaborations from Flowchart -- "Human Insex," with Tleilaxu, finds a connection between spooky IDM, breakbeats, and goofball vocal samples, while "Paper or Plastic?," a live rendition done with Technicolor, forecasts the group's full transformation into the realms of ambient techno early-'90s style. Other winners abound, including a striking, mysterious number from Piano Magic apparently saluting Richard Brautigan, "The Abortion: An Historical Romance, 1999." My Morning Jacket come up trumps in particular for the sweetly forlorn "Weeks Go By Like Days," Jim James' country-inspired high and lonesome sound capturing the mood just right even as the music builds a quiet tension and release. Sweet Trip's distortedly dreamy take on techno beats, "Classic Cinnamon Mint," makes for a treat, as does Orange Cake Mix's "These Daze," one of Jim Rao's sunnier synth pop numbers. ~ Ned Raggett, Rovi
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