Search - Various Artists :: Hed Kandi: Beach House 2008 (Dig)

Devoid of Originality and Quality

W.C. | Houston, TX USA | 08/16/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Ever since the Hed Kandi label was taken over by Ministry of Sound, many of the collections have struggled to maintain excellence and direction. Judging by the overall decrease in positive reputation and critical acclaim, it seems that many people have given up on the label. Sales might be up, but that would be due to the wider commercial appeal, not the quality. Recent collections are improving, but still okay at best. However, this localized edition of Beach House is a gigantic failure.



First, a considerable number of the songs included on both discs have been overused and are featured on Hed Kandi releases from 2007. In fact 4 of the tracks, "So Far," "It's Gonna Happen," "Watertight", and "Ride the Storm" which, except for the last one, are good songs in their own right, are straight from Beach House 2007. If that's not ridiculous, I don't know what is. Either MoS thinks that Americans are stupid or behind the times. Other songs, like "Inside Out" (The Mix 2008) and "Another Chance" (Kandi Lounge) are also recent repeats. That's a fourth of the tracks. There's a big difference between classics that haven't been heard or featured in years and songs that are getting recycled every quarter. And it's not as if these are remixes either; the tracks are exactly the same.



Another point of concern is the trend of using more and more tracks that frankly belong in the Disco series. The disco-ification of summer House collections is a turnoff to those of us who don't particularly enjoy that subgenre. I know that I'm in the minority when it comes to disliking the disco side of House, but am certainly not the only one, especially amongst longstanding Beach House fans. This includes the tracks "Rough Times", "Wonderful", "Rise", "Ride the Storm", and "Colors Are Forever" (the last being decent in its restraint). Hed Kandi is not the only culprit in this as Mark Doyle's Beach Angel series is also an offender (except to a lesser, milder degree). Now one or two disco House songs have made an annual appearance on past Beach Houses, but not nearly to this extent. And none so blatantly out of place. Needless to say, I find most of these songs grating and annoying. But it's just a side effect of the whole Beach House series getting more dance oriented in recent years. Which is fine on its own, but isn't what Beach House is really supposed to be. There's Stereo Sushi or Twisted Disco for that. It also makes the collection feel lazily put together.



Besides those two major complaints, the 2 CDs are mediocre to say the least. A few songs are good, like the remix of the Samantha James hit, "Breathe You In" or Rasmus Faber's "Demanda". However, there is almost no sense of pacing, as songs are seemingly put in random order. Like "Empty Streets", a song from 5 years ago, with its cool and somber beat, being followed by the bombastic "Ride the Storm." This might be a side effect from the lack of track mixing, but having to choose between over-editing or random track sequencing isn't something you should have to do. Some of the songs are rather bland and unoriginal, like "The Music", "One", and "Quiero Tus Caricias". They're not exactly horrible, but aren't memorable at all. But a large amount of songs are throwaway filler. There's no sense of discovering of a truly amazing track like there should be.



Some of the music itself isn't terrible, just okay with a few good tracks. But considering that many of best are just cherry picked from other Hed Kandi series, it lacks the individuality of past Beach House titles. Classics are good and all, but to call recent songs "classic" is really stretching it. Besides, a sizable number of new tracks are straight up, misplaced garbage. The overall set honestly feels more geared toward the Madonna electro pop crowd than the regular House fan. I hope that this isn't the start of splitting the series into regional editions. If the U.S. is just going to get a mish mash of old and ill fitting music, then there's really no point for it to exist, outside of hooking unquestioning fans that'll buy and endlessly extol anything with the Kandi label. But for the rest of us, it's hard not to feel cheated and under-whelmed by the whole experience. Flooding the market with uninspired, regionalized versions is just makes MoS seem money grubby. They can go ahead and take money from the brainless, image obsessed, name-dropping drones ("great CD for the beaches of the Maldives when I'm partying with my sexy millionare friends!"), but it's a true shame when decent people waste money on stuff like this because of a biased and uninformative review. Those who actually like Disco and hyperactive summer tunes might enjoy this collection a lot more, but even then, to call it amazing is willingly ignoring undeniable faults. It only deserves 1/2 a star, and really pains me to even give it a whole one.



As a final note, this Beach House is NOT the same as the UK version. There are a few (5) track similarities, but it's mostly different. And none of the tracks on that edition are from Beach House 2007. If anything, get that version if you must.





Favorite Tracks:

It's Gonna Happen

Demanda



Least Favorite Tracks:

Rough Times

Ride the Storm

Wonder

Open Your Eyes

"

A sunkiss from Hed Kandi...Beach House 2008 (USA Edition)

J. Benitez | 07/18/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Finally, Summer 2008 has officially arrive and again Hed Kandi delivers another great Beach House album. The beach party has moved to the sunny beaches of the US.



Totally, great album!! I love all tracks but Belezamusica's version of the Odyssey classic "Inside Out" is simply fantastic, too good to pass on. Somehow, I never get bored of the 2 CD's and for some reason they place me in a happy place while driving my car to The Hamptoms!! Come on summer, with the windows down and music blaring!



Top album, if you don't like Hed Kandi or this album, there is something seriously wrong.







"