Death From Above 1979 -Romance Bloody Romance

Tue 27th Jun, 2006 in Music Reviews

The old adage goes that if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. This is extends to music where you could say if it ain’t bad don’t (re)mix it. In this day and age of the remix album as creative statement, Canada’s reigning dance-metalists Death From Above 1979 are the latest group to offer their souls to the whims of in-demand producers all in the name of art, or dedication to fans, or to – gasp – cash-in on a successful first album.

On release in 2004 the duo’s debut album, You’re a Woman, I’m a Machine, was lavished with critical acclaim. However as the initial hype subsided question marks arose over the one-dimensional nature of the beast – the band’s “shtick” was a reliance on drums and bass. Yet, the album succeeded as simply a whole lot of rocking fun. While Romance Bloody Romance provides a more disparate range of sounds, this is to its detriment as a cohesive whole.

Whilst officially a collection of “remixes and b-sides” Romance is firmly grounded in the former. Names involved include one Josh Homme, he of Queens of the Stone Age and a plethora of other projects, UK super-producer Paul Epworth (under the guise of Phones), Sammy Danger of the sadly defunct Test Icicles, MSTRKRFT, and perhaps most interestingly Canadian up-and-coming string-master Final Fantasy. Taking into account the vastly differing backgrounds of those artists involved it is no surprise to discover that Romance Bloody Romance is a shambolic affair – and belying its title more misguided lust than romance.

That is not to say there aren’t notable remixes on display. There are no hair-raising standouts but it is fair to say that individually, while none are an improvement on the original, each song stands alone as a statement of some sort. But the idea of a commendable collection is flawed largely by an unnecessary focus on just two songs: ‘Black History Month’ and ‘Romantic Rights’. Great songs in their own right, the two are bludgeoned to the point of boredom as each appears four times in a 13-strong set. Therefore unlike Bloc Party’s recent attempt at a consistent remix-album DFA1979 fail to do themselves justice.

Now to the music and justice is done, literally, to ‘Blood on Our Hands’ in the Justice remix. A highlight of You’re A Woman, the already rocking track is transformed into a buzzing, sex-throbbing dance-floor track. The onus remains on the song’s masculine lyrics, however, it is subtly converted into a rollicking opus. Similarly Sammy Danger’s remix of ‘Black History Month’ reveals a harder-edge and abrasiveness than even DFA1979 are accustomed to. At the other end of the spectrum Josh Homme makes the same song his own; adding familiarly haunting backing vocals and building slowly to an eerie crescendo. The Girl on Girl Revision of ‘Black History Month’, yet again, featuring Owen Pallett/Final Fantasy is a true highlight. The track showcases a softer, more reflective side to DFA1979 through Pallett’s masterful execution of strings. Perhaps best known for providing string arrangements and performance on the Arcade Fire’s Funeral, Pallett adds worthy variation on the fourth and final appearance of the song.

Repetition is known to breed boredom and it can be said that the task of sifting through several interpretations of the same song becomes tiresome. As alluded to earlier, the vagueness of the collection makes one wonder what exactly the point of the exercise was. Like an extended minimalist remix, Romance Bloody Romance spreads thin an EP’s worth of material onto a full-length album. Returning to the opening adage, let’s hope Death From Above 1979 can clean up the mess they have left for themselves and make a fixed thing even better on their next proper release.