ALBUM REVIEW: Kitsune Maison Compilation 7 (La Roux, Phoenix, We Have Band)
words: Jamie Milton
originally scribed for thisisfakediy
Kitsune’s prominent role in the music industry should never be underestimated. That said, their compilations, growing in popularity and reputation by the second, are beginning to act as a casual name-drop of the most buzzed acts around, inferring who exactly you should be listening to. This is all well and good however, because those at the label have good taste and the acts on the compilation, for the most part, are worthy of the hype.
The impressive result of Compilation #7 is although it needn’t force itself to, it flows with such ease. Acting as a warm-up to a night out, the dance-inclined content doesn’t just consist at half-arsed attempts at lumping in some remixes to blog about. Remixes are of the highest quality, particularly the Classixx version of one of the singles of the year, Phoenix’s ‘Listztomania’, and the Yusek remix of a surprisingly underrated AutoKratz who for some time have been deserving of the kind of limelight La Roux, another worthy addition to the compilation, finds herself in.
As for fresh faces, the slowly-establishing We Have Band will enjoy some more word-of-mouth recommendations due to their inclusion of the frantic, obnoxious ‘Time After Time’. Men exemplify the perfect combination of style, swagger and substance in ‘Make It Reverse’. Crystal Fighters stick out like a sore thumb with ‘Xtatic Truth’, a full-on dance anthem with unique, spirited samples, MSTRKRFT-meets-a particular act that shares one half of their name. The Golden Filter, another act on the edge of every hipster’s lips, mix smooth, unalarming vocals with well-timed, rich rhythms – the sound of the bright future.
If anything, a compilation shouldn’t be analysed on merit of how well it flows, whether it has high points or low points, because surely any mistakes should be the artists’ responsibility, right? Well, no. Kitsune, unlike NOW 92 or any other former favourite at Woolworths, takes pride in providing the listener with a musical assault of the finest talent to go by their name, without any interruptions or jolts towards the skip button.
Viva la compilation.
7.6
mp3: Phoenix – Listztomania (Classixx version) [alt]
mp3: The Golden Filter – Favourite Things [alt]
H Y P E -
P O W E R
ALBUM: Diplo – Decent Work For Decent Pay: Selected Works Vol. 1
words: Jamie Milton
originally scribed for gigwise.com
Remixes don’t float everybody’s boat. But Diplo, who specialises in such, has changed the way most of us tackle them, solely because he doesn’t murder the original with pointless repetition. Unaware of the name? Look upon hypemachine or another blog-centric site and you’ll see his name scattered across the page. As I type, he’s at the #2 ‘hottest track’ spot. Wes Pentz makes heads turn. He changes our perspectives on some of the most infectious, durable tracks of the 21st century and occasionally, he excels on the original.
But then again, remixes are rarely, and only in Diplo’s case are they sometimes, better than the original. Most of his work does require some extra incentive to go back to. But, opinions on remixes are subjective and if their popularity on the blogosphere is indicative of anything, they’re doing well. Takes on Spank Rock’s ‘Put That Pussy On Me’ and CSS’s ‘Let’s M
ake Love…’ deserve the most credit. In these cases, Pentz samples the finer elements of the original and combines them with newly-introduced elements that his wide portfolio of instruments and gadgets can provide. For example, Lovefoxxx’s charming, almost-erotic vocals take centre stage in the latter of our examples, with Diplo surrounding it all with squeaky-pop beats and start-stop rhythms. This is when remixes go well. If you’re thinking of delving into the more-difficult-than-you’d-imagine world of re-working hits, come to Diplo for advice before you do anything.
Pentz’s very own work also features occasionally on ‘Decent Work For Decent Pay.’ But at no time does it warrant as much of your time as the remixes. And that leads us onto the next point that perhaps, Diplo’s success stems from the fact that he rarely touches on anything other than big names. M.I.A’s ‘Paper Planes’, Peter Bjorn & John’s ‘Young Folks’ and other such hits with a “cult status” feature on the album/compilation. Without subtracting any credit from his work, Diplo might not have gained the reputation he has now without working with such credible artists with such already-established popularity. Just a thought…
Let’s wait for Diplo’s follow-up to 2004’s ‘Florida’ until we can decide whether he’s a 21st century genius or just a clever chap. For now, this record can be held in high regard for summertime parties, but nothing more.
6.0
mp3: Spank Rock – Put That Pussy On Me [Diplo Tonite Remix] (zshare)
[Buy 'Decent Work for Decent Pay: Collected Works Vol.1']
“At the record company party. On their hands – a dead star”
ALBUM: The Smiths – The Sound of The Smiths
words: Jamie Milton
‘Strangeways, Here We Come’ marked the death of a band that are still talked about day-in-day-out, both fondly and critically. Morrissey is still a figure to love or hate and talk of a reunion is still at the end of nearly every fan’s breath, no matter how unlikely that is of happening. But they’re still the talk of the town and therefore Warner Bros. have seen this as another opportunity to release another best-of in order to cash in at Christmas. ‘Paint A Vulgar Picture’, a song that featured on the band’s final album, but doesn’t make its way onto this compilation, sums this whole idea up in a nutshell; “Re-issue ! Re-package ! Re-package !” check. “Re-evaluate the songs,” check. “Double-pack with a photograph,” check. “Extra Track (and a tacky badge),” pretty much. You get the vulgar picture. This compilation may have been overseen by both Marr and Morrissey but that doesn’t mean they enjoyed what they were seeing.
The problem with best-ofs is that they do give a newcomer to any band, access to their “best bits”. And although it pains to say, Warner Bros. have done a reasonably good job of doing just that; you’ve got the fan favourites, the big hits, the live tracks. Job done. The weakness comes in the fact that this is identical to one of the other countless Smiths compilations, tracks that are announced as “rare” by the package are ridiculously easy to find in a record store or hypemachine. Alongside this, there’s the idea of giving us all a chronological order of every single that was ever released by the band, in order to commemorate the grand achievements. If you want to be a decent person, you’d be better off buying ‘The Smiths’, then ‘Meat Is Murder’, then ‘The Queen Is Dead’, then ‘Strangeways, Here We Come’. With that optio
n, you get a better idea of the progression the band experienced (and yes, there was an awful lot of progression) along with better value for money.
The second CD gives us a little more to gasp at. Lurking inside are the likes of the ironically chirpy-sounding ‘Cemetary Gates’, the breathtaking closing sounds of Shane Meadow’s 2006 work ‘This Is England’: ‘Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want’, as well as the original and much superior take of Ronson’s ‘Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One Before’ (the expert knowledge of the compiler of this double CD is outlined when they get the title of this track wrong in the tracklisting in-front of me’). There may be room to acknoledge and take time to appreciate the glorious steps that the band took on this album but there is always, and I mean always, the temptation to chuck the damn thing on the floor and stamp on it until it’s hardly visible.
It was always going to be the case though; the material, 5 stars, the concept, 0 stars. Some best-ofs are delightful, endorsed by the band and easy to enjoy but this compilation was dented from the moment it was announced. When it comes to most best ofs, as many a politician would put it, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’ll still be a pig.
5
PLAY: The Smiths – Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me [Buy 'The Sound of the Smiths']
MFM @ HYPEM
