For reasons best known to Jarre, he then released this remix album in which he invited other artists to create new versions of tracks from "Oxymore". In theory, this extends the "Electronica" concept, but in practice it means household names such as Deathpact, French 79 and NSDOS (No? Me neither) get to add a four-on-the-floor kick drum under Jarre’s abstract noodling. Martin Gore of Depeche Mode and Brian Eno return, while Armin van Buuren arrives to pour a thick layer of generic trance over one track, like custard on a circuit board.
Gore's effort, "Brutalism" is a fairly straightforward techno track that repurposes some of the samples from the original and carries the same sinister vibe, but it has neither the groove nor the ideas to sustain interest across its five-minute runtime. It is a similar story with "Epica Extension", which uses the same sound palette as the original and throws in additional rhythm, but still manages to remain stubbornly boring. The same track is also reworked with Armin van Buuren, with results that are exactly as predictable as you fear. "Sex In The Machine Take 2" sounds like something any bedroom musician with a copy of Fruity Loops could create, and the two takes on "Zeitheist" towards the end of the album are similarly vanilla.
My favourite track here is "Brutalism Reprise" which was recorded with Deathpact. You should probably adjust your expectations if you are waiting for the new "Chronologie Part 4", but this one does actually sound pretty good and, more importantly, has something new to offer. The presence of one good track makes this album less a mixed bag and more a charity shop lucky dip where the one decent item is buried beneath several cracked ashtrays and a fondue set nobody wanted in the first place. Honestly, I'd rather listen to David Gray than this, and I do not say that lightly. My fear is that one day the great man might pass from this world, and something like this will end up being his swan song. 1/5
No comments:
Post a Comment