Review: Shiv-r – 'Eye Of The Needle'

SHIV-R
'Eye Of The Needle'
BLIND MICE PRODUCTIONS

Following on from last year's album 'Wax Wings Will Burn', Shiv-r released a surprisingly strong remix EP as a follow-up. Now remix albums can be a mixed bag as we all know, but 'On Blackened Wings' was a nice and diverse offering that put a different slant on what were already hefty songs. Fast-forward and the band are back with another remix release, this time in the form of 'Eye Of The Needle'.

The EP is a result of a remix contest and despite featuring only one song as the source material, the artists involved have thrown out a wide variety of sounds, in some cases creating majorly radical overhauls.

The snuff remix takes us into a brief and beautifully haunting acoustic introduction that immediately sets out the manifesto for the album. The likes of Basszilla’s with their anthemic electro-house mix, Nigen with their trap flavoured offering, Restriction 9’ with their ebm-leaning take, and the hard psy-trance of Valkrye X provide a nice core of club-friendly offerings. While the likes of Cold Therapy, Snuff and Cursed Earth Corporation veer into more left-field territory.

The additional remixes of 'Pharmaceutical Grade', and 'Lingerie' keep that left-field feel running with their imaginative reworking of the songs that sound both esoteric and accessible.

The production is solid and the more club-friendly tracks could easily stand-up to the band's previous output, while the more interesting versions lend themselves well to more intimate listening effectively.

Despite the majority of the EP featuring remixes of the same track, it is a great and varied showing of talents. The remixers create a rich palette of sounds and draw on styles both old and new to hold your attention with ease from one track to another. It may be a remix EP, but it is definitely home to a few gems and worth checking out in its own right.

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