Another I missed back in the Fs.
Here’s the third of five Candle Records compilations in my collection. It came pretty late in the Candle epoch, and was perhaps the most outlandish and adventurous collective action from the label.
While the acts on the roster were predominantly of a simple and gentle bent (musically) with a preference for the organic rather than electronics, the strummed rather than the programmed, this CD saw them handing their precious tracks over to knob twiddlers and song transformers.
What I’m saying is that this is the remix album probably no Candle fans had been holding out for. Before you get too excited, the outcome is not exactly dancefloor fodder (beyond perhaps some demented kindergarten – hmmm, is ‘demented’ superfluous there?). Typically the tracks have had their strings stripped out with a slightly faster backing of beeps and squeaks parachuted in.
It works most effectively when former Tlot O. Bolwell reunites with Stanley to funk up the classic Ruck Rover track about newsreaders. Guild League‘s Siamese Couplets becomes very cheesy, while Pipas take the Lucksmiths‘ How to Tie to Tie dangerously close to Architecture in Helsinki land (fear not, it retains a melody however).
All in all, this is a curiosity for Candle completists, but not likely to change your world.
File under: Better than a B-side
