I discovered Ratatat, an electronic duo from New York, this past fall. The first song I heard was Wildcat, a collection of unique solos set over spacey harmonies and a dominating baseline. Interspersed is the growl of a wildcat, somehow brilliantly used, making the song a strong candidate for the NU fight song and one of the chillest songs ever. The songs on the rest of their original albums, S/T and Classics, employ the same powering guitar harmonies, yet there is a uniqueness to each one.
My original worry with their music, specifically their remixes, was how they could maintain this sound, without allowing it to be overused. The boundary is very thin. Luckily and very intelligently, Ratatat choose songs on their first Remix album that were solid original tracks to begin with. Great remixes avoid songs like the following: Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On, Europe - The Final Countdown, and Starship - We Build this City. These songs suck alone, and people would be remiss to try and make them any better.
Rap/hip-hip songs are easy to remix - most of done very poorly, Look at the thousands of remixes of 50 cents - In the Club or Beyonce's Crazy in love. Its insane. Most bands seem to cover Crazy in Love during their music career - even dainty sellouts Snow Patrol managed a superb rock cover. Beyonce also performed her own version of In the Club, taking 50's brute, masochistic lyrics and turning them into something sensual and romantic. Anyone can make a remix, but it is very difficult to make one that is unique outside of the original and enjoyable to listen to.
Vol. 1 is a good, not fantastic, remix album. Their tracks seem to coincide too much and there are songs like Raekwon's Smith Bros that use the standard guitar harmony and are easily forgettable. Then, there is Ghostface Killah and Jadakiss' Run, which showcases the dynamic interplay between electronic music and solid lyrics. It is the definitive song of the album. (Note: This positive review is partially biased because I have Ghostface's Fishscales album on repeat and will gravitate to anything related to him and his music). Other notable tracks are Kanye West's Get em High and Missy Elliot's Hot.
With this collaboration album, Ratatat continues its progressive style of musical layering and complexity. It employs great use of crescendo, building up from a single guitar to more than a dozen overlapping parts that creates excitement and optimism. And from what I hear, they are sick in concert - able to blow your eardrums out and rock out all night.
Ratatat - Dizzee Rascal - Fix Up
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