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If the quality level Barge kicks out for its inaugural release is going to be a staple of their catalog, I just got a new label to follow. Innature is just about as great a first impression as anyone could ask for. The compilation serves up 10 tracks of greatness from the likes of Tim Hecker, Circle, Polmo Polpo, and Loren Connors, who add a little name recognition, and some lesser knowns who are at times even better. Drone is a centerpiece of the disc; vocals are ghostly when they appear. The opening track by The Fun Years, "Electricity Is A Scare Commodity," is my personal favorite track. It crafts several layers of wavering drone over simple guitar loops to amazing hazy effect. The Kallikak Family serves up the stuttering "Purity Music/Purity Sound" which leads into Bird Show's "Stay High." "Stay High" is another highlight, sounding almost like a poppy Storm & Stress; all disjointed melodies and soft-spoken vocals. Polmo Polpo's "Farewell to the Flyer" is a lengthy acoustic drone while Tim Hecker presents the sublime "Dungeoneering." Loren Connor's "Outside My Window" is a simple and gorgeous solo electric guitar lullaby. Animal Hospital has "Late Summertime" that starts simply enough as a night time field recording before a thick distorted riff slices through the track and things get subtly higher pitched as it progresses. The disc's centerpiece is undoubtedly the massive 12 minute Circle track "No Battle, No Fire" with it's percolating backing, clatter percussion, giant voices, and general air of the arcane. Geoff Mullen's "Gold Eyes" and MGR's "Neither Here Nor There" close out the set by doing the seemingly the same thing at opposite ends of the spectrum: A fairly simple guitar piece, repectively crusty and clean. All the tracks have a downbeat, dreamy quality but are distinct. The entire album doesn't suffer the scattershot disparity of many compilations and this is perhaps its greatest strength: Innature is a whole. Its also a fantastic place for any label to start.

Various Artists at Amazon & Insound