Reinterpretations

Album review

Having made a considerable splash with their remixing work in general as well as their well-received first self-titled album, the duo of Lindstrom and Prins Thomas returned with a companion piece to that, pulling off the neat trick of making their own remix collection. Reinterpretations is part compilation, part showcasing of new work, as the various alternate takes that make up most of the disc surfaced on various singles, while the concluding "Nummer Fire En" -- a twenty-minute monster that might almost be a response to LCD Soundsystem's "45:33" -- and "Nummer Fire To" appear on the separately released EP of that same overall title. Unsurprisingly enough, Reinterpretations isn't that far removed at all from its core album in terms of sound and impact, but things are generally far more geared to active listening and dancing here -- the never-never land of exuberant, global dance from past decades reworked and shot into the present is the base. Or rather the bass, as the spare but perfect part on the opening 12" mix of "Turkish Delight" shows -- the song itself becomes a ten-minute long masterpiece and should fairly be called the definitive version, its extended breaks bringing out the details in everything from the softly echoed breaths to any amount of further polyrhythms. From there the collection hits one inspired height after another, with standouts including the shuddering electro/house kick of "Mighty Girl" (when the lead melody first shifts from piano to a separate synth line, it's absolutely breathtaking) and the elegant swing of the alternative "Boney M Down." A low-key but fun touch lies in the name of some of the alternates -- "Claudia" here becomes "Claudio," "Feel AM" "Feel PM." It's a tiny detail but as with the duo's work in general, it's the small things that add up to something special.
© Ned Raggett /TiVo