Wooden Shjips - Remixes EP (Thrill Jockey, 2012)

Wooden Shjips

Remixes EP

Thrill Jockey

2012

Rating: 7.5 john boats out of 10

Is it wrong that I might like this EP of Wooden Shjips remixes more than I like their regular material?  Does that make me a bad fan?  Not that I really care, I'd just like to know where I stand.  

There are three tracks here, so let's talk about each one.  

1.  "Crossing Remix" by Any Weatherall: sounds like the "Knight Rider" theme song crossed with Kraftwerk.  That is to say, it sounds super fuckin' awesome.  I'm pretty sure I could listen to this song on a loop for a few days straight.   

2.  "Wiking Stew (aka Red Krayola-ing)" by Sonic Boom (yes that Sonic Boom, of Spacemen 3):it's got a very full sound, layers upon layers upon layers...it sounds a bit like a mess but coalesces back into a song by the end.  Not as good as the first remix, but decent.  

3.  "Ursus Maritimus (Last Bear’s Lament)" by Kandodo (aka Simon Price of The Heads): the epic jam of the bunch, over twelve minutes long.  The beat sounds like a chain gang prisoner walking in leg shackles, with swirling synths and guitars layered over top of it.  It's good.  It makes me want to walk around like a zombie.  

I like this EP a lot.  The second and third tracks are good and certainly work seeking out, but the first track is going to be one of my favorite songs of the year.