Various Artists - Modularpres. Leave The AllBehind

Sun 2nd Apr, 2006 in Music Reviews

Even a country bumpkin such as myself, who rarely gets the chance to be attending clubs, would have to agree that indie dance has been the sound dominating the scene in recent times.

One only has to look to some of the biggest bands on the alternative scene today, like Franz Ferdinand, The Killers and Bloc Party, the latter two of which are represented on Modular’s compilation Leave Them All Behind.  Even The Living End, almost as far from this sound as you can get, have been sneaking the some of the post punk elements inherent here into their recent singles (listen to the drums in Wake Up if you don’t believe me!)

On offer here are two discs, encompassing some thirty five tracks in total.  If nothing else, featuring the likes of the aforementioned two bands, Death From Above 1979, Cut Copy, The Fiery Furnaces and The Rakes, it’s almost as good a sampler of alternative music as you could hope for at the moment.  But Leave Them All Behind is so much more than that.

Disc 1, mixed by Modular’s own DJs, runs through a near hour long mix, covering the indie dance spectrum both local and international.  Showing that a good party mix doesn’t always have to be of the commercial Ministry of Sound variety, this eclectic set should kick off many a good night for the indie crowd.

If there’s a minor criticism to be made here, it is the inclusion of The Killers’ Mr Brightside as the final track.  While their relevance to the genre can’t be denied, considering that there are more suitable tracks on their album that could have been included, and the fact that it’s simply the album version with no intent to mix it into the set, it’s hard not to view it as a slightly cynical attempt to sell a few more copies.  It’s unfortunate because this is a compilation that has no problems standing on its own two feet.

Disc 2 is unmixed, replicating several of the remixes from the first disc in their original contexts, but also adding a few extra tracks from the likes of Soulwax, Sons and Daugters and an extra Presets track (they are on Modular after all!)

Leave Them All Behind is a fantastic compilation which is sure to find its way to a wide audience.  If you’re after a party mix with substance, or just want to check out some of the great alternative music of recent years which may have slipped under your radar, Leave Them All Behind is an essential purchase.