Optiganally Yours - De-Composed
(Vroom Sound)
Optiganally Yours is a fun side project with the inimitable Rob Crow and Pea
Hix writing songs with kitschy instruments, namely the Optigan and the
Talentmaker (first and second albums, respectively). The songs range from
fun to funny to serious and sad. The first album was very well received,
but I didn't see much of a reaction to the second (but equally great) album.
This remix album culls tracks from both albums and is as bizarre and fun
as either of their full lengths.
The opener, "Mr. Wilson," is a remix of a song from the first album which is
an insanely idiotic song that has nonetheless maintained it's hold on my
brain for years, holding its position as one of my favorite Rob Crow songs.
I mean, only Rob Crow can do songs like this and have them actually be
good, much less really great. Oh yeah, so anyway, the remix, done by
Plus-Tech Squeeze Box, is at least as strange as the original. Synth bleeps,
over the top string swells, beat boxes, horns, found sound (a la Man... or
Astroman?), and what sounds like random squeals and yells create an absurdly
overdriven cacophony propelled by the timelessly catchy vocal part.
"Oar," remixed by one of the guys from Moog Cookbook, is the highlight of the
CD, combining the best treatment of the bunch and Optiganally Yours' finest
song. Essentially doing the usual Moog Cookbook thing, the music of the
song is pretty much just replayed on synthesizers with great sounds. The
vocals are left in tact, carrying the keyboards along through the song. The
album version of this song sounds a lot like Pinback to me, whereas this
version really feels like Optiganally Yours. It's strange and loaded with
kitsch, but it's creepy, beautiful, and heavily affecting. In short, it
shows the brilliance of Rob Crow perfectly.
"Ether" is remixed by long time Crow cohort Lesser, to good effect. Clicked
and cut up, it continues the trend to do remixes that sound more like
collaborations. However, the notion of crafting a song out of a remix seems
to be something Lesser has spent a lot time working on. Stretching certain
vocal lines, stuttering a particular guitar part, and building walls of tone
with vocal loops. These vocal loops feel like different verses and choruses instead of
different parts of the song some guy thought would be cool to "fuck around
with" and spice up with a heavy beat.
Tracks 8 - 87 are all 8 or so seconds of silence, leading up to track 88,
the sweet heavy metal version of "Mr. Wilson." Fuck yeah. Classic death
metal. Tons of muted chords and riffs, bratty distorted vocals, and a weird
loop of a guy that sounds like Rob Zombie. This is probably the best
"remix" ever. Granted, it's not really a remix, but whatever. It's a great
ending to a fun record.
As a remix album, De-Composed raises the bar so high that very few remix
albums will probably seem relevant (not that I thought they were in the
first place), as it stands up to both of their albums (which I think are
both great). The great songwriting, quirky instrumentation, and great sense
of humor are all kept completely intact, and presented in a completely new
and refreshing light.
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