Asthmatic Kitty
2007
Tear It Down
About This Album
Since Shara Worden released a remix EP with her previous project, Awry, it only seems fitting that My Brightest Diamond should get the remix treatment, too. Tear It Down turns over Bring Me the Workhorse's tracks to a bevy of sonic manipulators, most of whom go with a subtle, stripped-down approach that focuses on Worden's glorious voice and string arrangements, augmented by a few abstract beats. Even within this fairly restrained palette, there's quite a bit of variety, especially on Tear It Down's best tracks. Alias' serene reworking of "Golden Star" is a standout, as is Lusine's remix of "Workhorse," which sets Worden's voice afloat on intertwining keyboard melodies. Siamese Sisters turn "The Good Guy and the Bad Guy" into pretty post-rock, while the Strings of Consciousness' "Gone Away" is actually more of a collaboration than a straight remix; the group contributed crunchy beats and twangy guitars that sound like a more deconstructed version of Portishead's "Sour Times," and Worden sang a new vocal melody. A few remixes are a little too quiet for their own good, such as Alfred Brown's "Magic Rabbit" and Haruki's "We Were Sparkling"; the fact that several of these quieter tracks appear back to back on the album makes Tear It Down come dangerously close to numbing instead of hypnotic.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,7 and 9)

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