[Aniara Recordings]

For a small label, Aniara Recordings really punches above its weight in hype. It’s hard to find a reviewer that’s criticized the imprint, in fact. When similar-sized labels get this treatment, it’s often the result of hand-stamped white labels or by enlisting big names, not releasing understated house from local friends. This fact should tell you plenty about the quality of the Gothenburg-based outfit. LWE staffers Michael C. Walsh and Steve Kerr may have summed up the label’s charms best when they said it “specialize[s] in nuance” and sips “the Scando-Balearic syrup” without feeling “overstuffed and proggy.” Right they are. To put it another way: the tunes on Aniara never feel forced or extravagant.

From You, the debut record from Mountain Range — aka Gothenburg’s Christoffer Berg — sees this essential quality staunchly upheld. Purists would probably label the 12″ as deep house, but really, it’s something more like dub house. And what’s more understated than dub? Over 10 detailed minutes, the title track’s deep, slow-moving currents seem to take forever to reach the snap of desiccated 909 claps and hats. There’s no melody to latch onto, but the Berg’s surround-sound creaks and moans have a fastidious immediacy which effortlessly make up for it. Not too many first-timers could pull off such a stark track without inciting boredom, but there you go. “Untouchable” is much hookier and exuberant, though it also has a marginally dubby feel. Part of this is due to its catchy, elasticized bass. Up to a certain point, anyway, when neon-hued synths enter, brightening the whole arrangement. At home, the two merely enact a nice crescendo, but in a club, they’ll create something truly special.