Foetus
Blow
(Thirsty Ear)
After taking almost 6 years off from releasing a recording, J.G. Thirwell isn't about to let people forget his name for at least the near future. In addition to a more ambient album under the name of Manorexia and the earlier full-length of Flow comes this follow-up remix album in which the 12 tracks get a working over by a wide variety of artists (including Thirwell himself). One of the good things about the release is that every single track on the first disc gets remixed, and only one track appears twice (so it fortunately doesn't fall into the category of a remix album that has too many versions of the same track).
At any rate, the remixers themselves vary from a crew that you'd expect to a couple names that seem a bit surprising. The disc starts off with a super dark reworking of "Cirrhosis Of The Heart" by Amon Tobin that churns along with a thick, rumbling beat and only a touch of heavily processed vocals. Originally probably the musically lightest track on Flow, it gets turned to something much more sinister. In another turn of events, Franz Treichler (of the Young Gods) takes the revving out-of-control original of "Need Machine" and comes in with a subdued mix that sounds surprisingly like the quieter work of his own group.
The best reworkings on the disc actually come from those whom I'd least expected to be on the disc in the first place. Pan Sonic strips down the 13-minute "Kreibabe" into a more digestible 4 minutes of harsh electronic banging while Kid 606 takes "Shun" and hops it up on his usual batch of glitchy drill and bass hardcore tomfoolery. On the other side of things, Charlie Clouser turns in a by-the-number industrial (even encoporating some of the same samples he used on a Nine Inch Nails remix he did) re-tread of "Quick Fix" and even the usually interesting Panacea turns in a pretty standard reworking of "Heuldoch 7B" that takes away all the sloppy big band fun of the original and leaves it with a plodding beat and default sound-effects.
Even though it sort of stands out like a sore thumb, the Ursula 1000 mix of "Someone Who Cares" adds something quite refreshing, somehow making Foetus sound like a breezy summer track replete with south of the border horns and a light guitar melody. The other Ninja Tune artist DJ Food also goes the uber dark route (like Tobin) and turns "Suspect" into an even grimier, more gritty version of the original spy-sounding track. Overall, there are some interesting things done on the disc and it's a definite must for fans of Foetus looking to hear the complimentary disc, but if you're looking to get one or the other, it's probably best to go with Flow. For Foetus Completists.
Rating: 6.25
