Artist: Metronomy
Title: The English Riviera Unreleased Remixes
Record Label: Because Music
Rating: 6.5

Remix culture is booming at the moment. Everyone from contemporary electronic artists like SBTRKT and Jamie xx, to bands like The Naked and Famous and The Joy Formidable, are turning their hand to the remix game. Instead of artists paying homage to their peers via a cover version it seems the way forward is to re-imagine a song or album into a twisted electronic melting pot. Following in the same footsteps as Radiohead and Bloc Party, Metronomy are set rerelease their stunning third LP, The English Riviera but reworked by a host of electronic artists.

Metronomy have opted to offer up this remix LP as more of a collective of reworked tracks as opposed to a different take on their third record. Ultimately this is a shame; The English Riviera is such an accomplished document of work, that a mirror image, yet tweaked approach would have been quite thrilling. This remixed submission is built upon several repeated tracks that have had the manipulated treatment, these are, ‘Corinne’, ‘The Look’, ‘The Bay’ and ‘She Wants’. The general consensus for the band’s contemporises was to take said tracks and add the odd bass wobble here and a key repeated lyric there, but this approach doesn’t carry much impact or build upon the foundations of the original record.

There are a clutch of modified tracks that stand out, ‘The Look (Two Inch’s Shook Shook Refix)’ turns the original into a modern R ‘n’ B slow jam that conveys a laid back charm, and the drum and bass throb of ‘The Look (Camo & Krooked Remix)’ is another key moment which transforms the seaside infused ditty into a stomping hi-octane event.

It was a missed opportunity not ripping apart ‘Love Underlined’, as the closing track on The English Riviera is just begging to be turned into a euphoric synth odyssey while ‘We Broke Free’ would have sounded special reworked by a dub step aficionado. This collection of rebuffed tracks is an uber fan only recommendation; you’d be better off taking a trip to The English Riviera than its twinned cousin.

Words and Thoughts of Adam Williams