| I hope the reader will excuse the excess of a short look at the history of Lymbyc Systym. Given that this is a review of a remix album, a historical overview is nearly essential, and, as such, I am forced to oblige. 2006's Carved by Glaciers EP was a promising beginning for the band, working chill, sometimes minimal, Rhodes-led grooves into the heart of at least this listener. The title track was especially promising – in a time when electronic musicians are trying to cram all they can into their music so as not to be left behind, the relaxed but persistently powerful nature of “Carved by Glaciers” comes off as a breath of fresh air, even today. The debut full-length, Love Your Abuser was released to fairly widespread acclaim, mostly due to the admirable promotions job done by MUSH records. The fact is, the band took most of the originality and power of Carved by Glaciers and melted it all away, resulting a generic and rather unimpressive release. As such, the remix album's existence came as a bit of a surprise - Love Your Abuser was received relatively well, but not to such acclaim that a remix album was mandated. Well, an album's best justification for its existence is best heard, not explained, and so we dive right into the album itself. Love Your Abuser Remixed begins strongly with the One AM Radio remix of “Astrology Days.” One AM Radio has the excellent sense to cut the track nearly in half and bring the trumpets up to the front of the mix, providing the release with a unique opener that promises a powerful, imaginative reinterpretation of the album. Daedalus' remix of “...So We Can Sleep” is also an imaginative take on the track, adding acoustic piano and a repeated vocal sample to reshape the feel of the track, but the difference in tone sets the listener on edge. Rather than closing the album with a powerful exclamation point, showing off the high points of the rest of the album, the jarring finale leaves a bad taste in the listener's mouth. The rest of the album consists of different shades of boredom. Take, for example the quasi-ambient This Will Destroy You remix of “Love Your Abuser.” The remixers attempt to hide the song behind a haze of guitar-driven ambience, but there's nothing special about the haze itself – it's just a cloud of guitar effects without subtlety or direction. When melody does rear its head, there is no reward, no justification for the time spent listening. Moving the bell sounds further back into the mix is a step in the rieght direction, however – allowing for a little subtlety within any track is always a good decision, and th sounds positively dominated the original track. If that's not enough, try the uninteresting “Fall Bicycle” remix by The Album Leaf. Replacing the live drums with synthetic beats sucks the life out of the track, and adding a full minute while removing the heart of a track is bound to cause major problems – which it does. The main problem with the release is that there's really nothing to justify its existence. It seems that the band didn't even assemble enough buddies for a “complete” remix album – three of the songs are remixed by Lymbyc Systym itself. Now, far be it from me to say that it's wrong to remix your own tracks after you've already released them to the public, but doesn't it seem a bit odd? I mean, you spend countless hours working to perfect a track, mixing it just right until it becomes as close a realization of your vision as possible, and then you release it to the world. Then you remix it? It seems like saying that “We really messed up the track the first time, guys, but it's good now!” In any case, unless you're a die-hard Lymbyc Systym fan, I can't imagine why you wouldn't give this little release a miss. I'm still holding out for you, Lymbyc Systym, but you've got to go back to your roots, back to “Carved by Glaciers,” and see where it all went awry. Either that, or add more trumpets. A remix album is no real way to judge a band's merit, so we'll have to wait for the ever-elusive follow-up to see if the band will blossom into a potent musical force. - The Silent Ballet |
