Search - West Indian Girl :: Remix Ep

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alexander laurence | Los Angeles, CA | 11/28/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"West Indian Girl came out with a cool album last year. Many of these songs were dying to be remixed. You have some people like Death In Vegas and King Britt involved and I am already interested. I have seen these guys play a few times in the past two years. There shows have become really amazing over time. This was culminated with a mind-blowing show at San Diego Street Scene. They played early on the second day but there was a big turnout to see them. Richard Fearless (Death In Vegas) has worked with Eastern sounds before. His remix of "Trip" is amazing. It brings out new excitement in an already great song. Of course we have two remixes of the song "What Are You Afraid Of?" The one by Derf has a weird two-step beat. The one by Mercir is even stranger. More like a chill out track. King Britt's version is like an underwater track. There are two version of "Hollywood." This is a big song in the West Indian Girl set. One is chill, and one is like a club track. With most of these songs, the song structure remains intact. You can still recognize the original songs. This is an important record."

I'm falling away, I'm falling in love

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 12/11/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"West Indian Girl produces the kind of trippy, warm pop that is just begging to be remixed. Their self-titled debut is just crammed with it, and some wonderful remixes have turned up over time. So with only one album under their belts, the Angeleno band created "Remix EP," which ups the trip factor on their songs.



It features three remixes of "What Are You Afraid Of?", which has gotten some serious attention on MTV2. There's the Dert Remix, with its rippling snakey synth and handclaps; the sad-robot twitters, soaring vocals and Aphex-Twinnish beats of the "Mercir Remix"; and finally there's the dark, swirling, random sound of the "King Britt Scuba Mix."



Then there are two remixes of "Hollywood," a summery ode to the city. "In Hollywood, rivers fly/In Hollywood, the skies alive/In Hollywood, your fears come out to play," Robert James croons. There's the Gabin's Organic Mix, which is a smooth, dreamy experience. Then there's Mark Sgarbossa's '86 Club Mix, which spins it in the other director -- sharp beats, dancefloor style.



And there are two single remixes: Richard Fearless' remix of "Trip," which is a lazy, sitar-drenched, shimmering experience. It's more psychedelic than any other song they've made yet. Then there's the L'arsen remix of "Miles From Monterey," an exquisite trip-hop ballad full of pretty vocals and swoony keyboard.



Remix CDs are usually a hit-or-miss affair. Half the remixes are brilliant, and the other half are either forgettable or just painful. Fortunately "Remix EP" doesn't suffer from those problems -- every remix is brilliant, multilayered and shimmering with psychedelic splendour. The only exception is the discoey "Hollywood" remix, which is merely good.



In this case, the solid instrumentals of the band are wrapped up in heavy layers of echoey effects, soaring vocals, and shimmering keyboard that can evoke everything from the psychedelic-era Beatles to TV on the Radio. It's a credit to Robert James that you can still hear his slightly gravelly voice through it all.



The "Remix EP" just reinforces that West Indian Girl is a special psychpop band, and will be worth watching in the future. A must-have accompaniment to their first album."