I’ve heard a lot of good remixes over time, but most are throwaway tracks bunched together on a single or posted on Soundcloud and Bandcamp.
In contrast, the way the latest EP from Flies Are Spies From Hell combines a couple of new songs with three remixes of songs from their late 2009 album, is pure genius. They’re not the first to do this, but it’s among the best efforts I’ve heard.
Rather than a bit of filling, the remixes add great variety in sound making this a solid EP that should satisfy fans and new listeners alike, without having to create five new songs from scratch. A check of the price reveals it’s no cynical rip-off.
The two original or studio tracks are tremendous. The record opens up with soft electronics before the gentle tremolo guitar and slow arpeggios start. You’ll need to turn it up loud. These arpeggios become a melody wandering over a soft foundation for a couple of minutes before the inevitable assault starts on the ears. If dynamics disturb you, this might not be for you. If time signatures that seem to change from bar to bar disturb you, then hide. There’s a passage that’s more waltz/march/march than just 7/4. Throw in a couple of jarring notes and you get a band that has truly harnessed the possibilities of rhythm, not just experimented with them.
‘Axe to the Root’ follows the near seven minute opener and is a minute longer itself. This track is typical post rock in its basics, but breaks well clear of your Emperor Mogwai in the Sky. It’s not a Western sound and appears more Mediterranean or Middle Eastern for want of a better description. Whatever the case, this song is full of tension and unfamiliarity in safe and familiar clothes. Brilliant.
The other great thing about these two new tracks is the use of piano, not a common instrument in post rock. Although not as forward or dominating as found in 65DOS or Tangled Thoughts of Leaving, it’s been an important part of the band’s recognisable sound.
So to the remixes, starting with ‘Wallow in Threat’, which gets the treatment from Court of Hidden Faces. As with all three remixes, it takes the essence, or feeling from the original and rewrites, rather than just bends or tweaks. The track has that ambient and emotional moodiness that just swallows you up. With my eyes closed I’m a deep sea diver clambering from a boat and slowly dropping to the ocean floor. Wonderfully tense as it paradoxically provides calm and anxiety.
‘Great Deadener’ is contributed by Gunning for Tamar, who did a different version of the same song on the 2011 Flies Are Spies From Hell ‘Remix EP’. That earlier version would have been a more obvious choice for this EP, closer to the post rock sound of the first two tracks and the closer, but that’s what makes this remix a better choice. Its jerky, danceable electronics are the last thing you expect, but just like Lister’s triple fried egg chilli chutney sandwich, it just works.
Karhide, or Tim Waterfield, who recorded and mixed the studio tracks, provides the closer – ‘King Sly’, another version of which appeared on ‘Remix EP’.
So there you have it. Ordinarily I might have considered this a two track EP with three bonus remixes. It’s not. It’s a great post rock EP of just under half an hour that is full of variety, experimentation and progress. There should be more like this.
Released February 27 through Field Records
Posted by Gilbert Potts
