Various Artists – Little Darla Has a Treat for You , Vol. 23

Various Artists
Little Darla Has a Treat for You , Vol. 23

I am always skeptical when it comes to CD samplers, unless of course it is a homemade one with my favorite driving tunes put together for a camping trip. I am especially skeptical of samplers touting exclusive tracks, since this is usually a ploy to get hardcore fans to buy a whole CD for just one track from their favorite band. And I am extremely skeptical when I have not heard of 16 of the 19 bands featured on the disc. But with one spin of Little Darla Has a Treat for You, Vol. 23, my skepticism was replaced with delight.

The disc contains 19 tracks (seven of which are exclusive to this release) in a span of 78 minutes and runs the gamut of styles and genres from straight ahead indie rock and moody slow-core to quirky synth-pop and alt-folk, to downtempo, new-age, electronica and back again all without sounding disjointed. Of course it is probably due to the way these Darla Records artists tend to cross and/or blur the boundaries between the genres and make songs that effectuate moods and contain enough originality to appeal to anyone with a keen ear for creative music.

Four of the seven exclusive tracks are alternate versions of album tracks and include the sunny, quirky synth-pop of Baskerville’s “Midnight at the Underground”; the Beta Band-sounding indie rock of Aarktica’s “Bleeding Light”; the Cat Power-like “Super Zero” by Linda Draper; and the Mum-ish, sputtery electronica of “Little Songs About Raindrops” from Lullatone. The other three exclusive tracks are The Channel’s “Second-Born Daughters”; an electronic, new-age take on “Crockett’s Theme,” from the TV show Miami Vice, performed by Denmark’s Manual; and “She’s a Light/Iowa” by Magic Arrows.

While the exclusive tracks are good and worth the price of admission alone, there are some even better treats on this CD. Piano Magic’s “Love and Music,” “Twin Evil Stars” by Dead Cowboys, and The Field Mice’s “Missing the Moon” are all good, rocking tunes that bring back memories of Joy Division and New Order while maintaining relevance in today’s musical world. Other tracks of note include the classically arranged, modernly played social commentary of Momus’ “Robin Hood,” the Throwing Muses-inspired “Falling Back” from Scaramento’s California Oranges, and Isabelle Antena, who provides the perfect lounge-singer vocals for her Thievery Corporation-remixed version of “Nothing to Lose.” If there is a sour grape in this bunch, it is Kobol’s “Broken Ebony,” whose freestyle, nu-jazz elements don’t quite seem to mesh with the rest of the disc.

The pictures of all the vintage Hawaiian sheet music make an attractive cover and booklet, though it would have been nice to see some more information on the bands included. Musically, this disc contains enough tasty morsels to provide many a late-night snack and will make an excellent musical smorgasbord for your summer pool-party.