Bloc Party Silent Alarm Remixed Album Review, Songs, Rating

Home > Music > B > Bloc Party > Discography

Albums | Compilations | Singles | Videos

Bloc Party
Silent Alarm Remixed
Release Date: 2005 03 22
Label: Wichita
Rating:

As the sticker on the album's cover states, Silent Alarm Remixed is "a track-by-track reinvention of Bloc Party's stunning debut album by some of their favorite artists." While it might seem a little soon for this kind of reinvention, some of these remixes date back to the band's earliest EPs, such as the reworking of "Banquet" by Phones (aka Bloc Party and Maximo Park producer Paul Epworth). Not surprisingly, the quality of the remixes varies: Ladytron's uninspired take on "Like Eating Glass" turns the original's fist-pumping fervor into a puddle of synth strings and looped vocals that drown in reverb, but Whitey's version of "Helicopter" -- which moves from xylophones and wolf howls to bare, brazen guitars and back -- is rawer, weirder, and arguably a lot more interesting than its source. Silent Alarm Remixed ends up feeling like a polarized version of Silent Alarm, with both its soft and strident sides emphasized. As on the original album, the prettier moments are often the most powerful ones. It would be difficult to make "Blue Light" anything less than gorgeous, but the Engineers' aptly named "Anti-Gravity Mix" truly is stunning. M83's version of "The Pioneers," Four Tet's "So Here We Are," and Mogwai's "Plans" also share a frosty, remote quality that is achingly lovely. The remixes of Bloc Party's harder-edged songs don't all fare quite as well: despite its frenetic IDM makeover, "Positive Tension" is still kind of dull. On the other hand, "Price of Gasoline" sounds better as spiky electronica than it did as angular nu-post-punk, and "Luno" kicks harder in Death from Above 1979's hands. Though not every "reinvention" on Silent Alarm Remixed is great, it's more consistent than most remix collections, and actually functions surprisingly well as an album in its own right for that very reason. [Like certain versions of Silent Alarm itself, Silent Alarm Remixed was also available with a bonus EP that featured three previously unreleased tracks, "Storm and Stress," the excellent "Always New Depths," and "Skeleton," along with acoustic versions of "Storm and Stress" and "Plans."] Heather Phares, All Music Guide

Tracks:

	Title	Composer	Time
1	Like Eating Glass [Ladytron Zapatista Mix]	Bloc Party	4:18
2	Helicopter [Whitey Remix]	Bloc Party	4:34
3	Positive Tension [Blackbox Remix]	Bloc Party	4:27
4	Banquet [Phones Disco Edit][Mix]	Bloc Party	5:26
5	Blue Light [Engineers 'Anti-Gravity' Mix]	Bloc Party	3:02
6	She's Hearing Voices [Erol Alkan's Calling Your Dub][Dub]	Bloc Party	8:24
7	This Modern Love [Dave P. And Adam Sparkles' Making Time Remix]	Bloc Party	5:03
8	Pioneers [M83 Remix]	Bloc Party	5:51
9	Price of Gasoline [Automato Remix]	Bloc Party	4:49
10	So Here We Are [Four Tet Remix]	Bloc Party	6:28
11	Luno [Bloc Party vs. Death from Above 1979]	Bloc Party	3:57
12	Plans [Replanned by Mogwai]	Bloc Party	3:44
13	Compliments [Shibuyaka Remix by Nick Zinner]	Bloc Party	5:21
14	[Untitled Hidden Track]	Bloc Party	5:13
15	Storm and Stress [Acoustic]	Bloc Party	2:46
16	Always New Depths	Bloc Party	4:58
17	Skeleton	Bloc Party	3:16
18	Plans [Acoustic]	Bloc Party	3:21
19	Storm and Stress [Acoustic]	Bloc Party	3:13

Browse More Music:
# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Starpulse.com

Your Entertainment Destination

Bloc Party:

Follow Starpulse