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National Music Reviews
The Mynabirds
Generals: Remixed
Saddle Creek
Street: 07.30
The Mynabirds = Neil Young + experimental Björk
As much as I love a solid club remix, I have a real passion for experimental remixes. When those end up being extraordinary, it is, literally, music to my ears. With its many great hooks and swagger, Laura Burhenn’s sophomore album under her Mynabirds moniker was a prime candidate for remixing, and the six choices here (expanded digitally from four available on vinyl) are well served. Original album co-creator Richard Swift slows the stomp—but not the message—of the title cut, while The Faint’s Clark Baechle produces a smooth jam on “Disaster.” Arguably, the most radical take is by Postal Service’s Jimmy Tamborello, whose Dntel remix of “Body Of Work” elongates the beat while tweaking the vocals. The two mixes of “Disarm” are both solid, but hands down the best mix is the great, nearly ’80s power-ballad-sounding “Radiator Sister” by Patrick Damphier as Field Days. –Dean O Hillis
Generals: Remixed
Saddle Creek
Street: 07.30
The Mynabirds = Neil Young + experimental Björk
As much as I love a solid club remix, I have a real passion for experimental remixes. When those end up being extraordinary, it is, literally, music to my ears. With its many great hooks and swagger, Laura Burhenn’s sophomore album under her Mynabirds moniker was a prime candidate for remixing, and the six choices here (expanded digitally from four available on vinyl) are well served. Original album co-creator Richard Swift slows the stomp—but not the message—of the title cut, while The Faint’s Clark Baechle produces a smooth jam on “Disaster.” Arguably, the most radical take is by Postal Service’s Jimmy Tamborello, whose Dntel remix of “Body Of Work” elongates the beat while tweaking the vocals. The two mixes of “Disarm” are both solid, but hands down the best mix is the great, nearly ’80s power-ballad-sounding “Radiator Sister” by Patrick Damphier as Field Days. –Dean O Hillis