Back for More: A Remix Collection

Album Review

Kudu are Back for More, taking another bite of their 2006 Death of the Party album. Fans hoping for a new set from the Big Apple electro-pop trio will initially be disappointed, but that feeling will fade once they slap this disc into their CD players. The set revolves around souped-up remodels of Party tracks, but also includes their much sought-after 2006 single "Boom Boom!! [Black Blonde Mix]," "Cannibal [Bite Me Mix]," a number from their eponymous debut EP, and a brand new song. Most of the remixes turn the originals inside out, and never more so than the title track, which transforms a bouncy number into a slinky big-band extravaganza that snakes between the Creatures, the Specials, and Massive Attack. Elsewhere, the quirky, no wavey "Black Betty" is doused in the blues, "Suite Life"'s thumping club styling is reworked into a trance delight, and the synth pop "Hot Lava" rockets into outer space. On "Let's Finish," the group departed from its usual sound to explore funk and hip-hop; a tongue-in-cheek Sinden remodels it into a coursing synth pop delight. Not every remix is a total makeover; Ling Ling is content to add savory atmospheres to "Playing House," while Kudu themselves emphasize the tribal and jungle elements inherent in "King Kong." It's obvious that all the remixers had a grand time playing with each of their Party tracks; King Britt obviously so, strewing "Bar Star" with classic rock guitar licks and space-age effects. Armand Van Helden goes the opposite direction on the collaborative new number "Your Words," accentuating the band's love of pumping rhythms and infectious, shadowed melodies. So, not a new album, just an entirely reimagined one, taking the always adventurous Kudu into exciting new aural territories.