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Written by Cindy Gao Thursday, 26 January 2006 10:50

The “Girl on Girl Revision” of “Black History Month” featuring Owen Pallett is an inventive take on the original, further proving that a Canadian passport is probably the best way to get interesting guest sports on your next album.

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Remix albums are tricky things. Offering little new, they can often invoke that most dreaded of “s” words: sellout. And while I’m hesitant to use that word, and the last thing anyone wants is to see Coldplay release “Talk Again” on the next episode of CSI, it’s becoming clearer why the term is used by so many disillusioned fans these days. Canadian scuzz rockers Death From Above 1979’s latest, remix/B-side album Romance Bloody Romance, is half-hearted and uninspired, leaving me to simply wonder, “Why?” What compelled such a promising band to release Romance with results like this? There’s no excuse for four remixes each of “Romantic Rights” and “Black History Month” on a mere 13-track disc. It brings to mind perhaps another “s” word: self-indulgent.

There are a couple standouts here, to be fair. MSTRKRFT’s revision of “Sexy Results” lives up to its name, all slinking electronica beat and seductive vocals. The “Girl on Girl Revision” of “Black History Month” featuring Owen Pallett (better known as Final Fantasy or touring Arcade Fire member) is an inventive take on the original, further proving that a Canadian passport is probably the best way to get interesting guest sports on your next album. Here, Pallett’s charming violin, backed by a funky bass line, turns “Black History Month” into the disco dance-floor confession Madonna only wishes she’d thought of. But these tracks, not unlike Madge’s career of late, ultimately lack any substance beneath their polished surfaces. As other artists have shown this year, a great remix is more than a song imposed upon a disco beat. Unrestricted by the constraints of a straightforward rock song, a remix can bring out qualities the original would’ve never dared to dream of. Unfortunately, not a single song on Romance achieves this. Probably the best “s” word to describe it? Standard.