="love>What is the point of a remix? Does there need to be a point? Why do I instinctively shy away from remixes? These are the questions that I have had in my mind for the past little while as I listened to this album. The way I see it, a good remix should reinterpret a song, it sets an aspect, or all of the original, in a new light whilst creating something new and different at the same time. The songs that work best on Love Is All Mixed Up are ably done without uncovering anything spectacular. For instance, 'Felt Tip (frYars Remix)' drags out an early morning coolness that is only hinted at by Love Is All, slower paced and less abrasive with frYars lead vocals sounding high pitched and warped. Much the same can be said for 'Felt Tip (Hot Chip Remix)' which uses sweeping keyboard sounds for the same effect. The Bees create 'Make Out Fall Out Make Up' in their own image, with typical warm organ, bass and horns giving the song a soul/blues/jazz jam session feel, more a cover version than a song. Maps creates possibly the best remix on the album with his version of 'Turn The Radio Off'. The most heartfelt and least abrasive track on Nine Times That Same Song, Maps sensitively amplifies the introspective feel with smooth electronic squiggles and manipulations and a good sense of dynamics, creating a damp, late-night come down tune.The other artists take a different approach to remixing, cutting up the original and making the song almost unrecognisable. Most notable is Metronomy’s remix of 'Spinning And Scratching', which deconstructs the horns, percussion and vocals. A new base is made for the song and these cut up pieces are then pasted in specific places. 'Make Out Fall Out Make Up (A Chicken Lips Malfunction)' is stretched, making a previously 3 minute song 8 minutes long, with a liberal interpretation that includes a fax machine sound, a ruler fwanging on a table edge and a queasy synth that wanders in and out. The thunderous drums of the original are reduced to a minimal kit, and a new funky bassline takes centre stage. I like this track more than the others that use this style, there is a degree of playfulness and humour. Studio eschews seemingly all of 'Turn The Radio Off' and follows his muse with not necessarily interesting results. I find this way of remixing less compelling than the way chosen by Maps and the rest, I can see the craft and quality, but find it too chin-strokingly academic.If you are a big fan of Nine Times That Same Song you will find some interesting spins on tracks that you love, if you had a passing interest then you might be a little non-plussed, and if you are a fan of remixes and remixers in general you probably won’t have read this far. I think the reason why I instinctively shied away from remixes in the past was a distrust towards an outside artist daring to touch an original composition. With Love Is All Mixed Up I find that opinion changing and my views on remixes being challenged. 64%Links Love Is All [myspace] [buy it]