This is an odd little EP, an experiment to reveal what happens when you take an indie pop punk outfit and add electronic glitches and clicks and bass drops. It’s not going to be on anybody’s Top Ten this year, but it’s an extremely interesting experiment in sound.
Unlike a lot of electronic remixes, this is still handled by a band member. The band’s Nathan Shaw did the remixes himself, which is phenomenal, and has an interest in electronic music. This is his outlet for that.
Fans of Said the Whale’s songs will find electronic interpretations of riff-heavy choruses like I Love You and Safe to Say rather odd, but their large beats provide different insights into the way that pop punk naturally sounds. It’s not just a different feeling, but it becomes a different story.
For the record (no puns intended), the songs aren’t awful — in fact, some of what’s going on is fantastic, like in On The Ropes — but they aren’t necessarily improvements on the originals. In fact, they aren’t even recognizably the originals anymore.
And that’s the point. Said the Whale are offering this not for fans of their music, but to get a different taste of their own. It feels almost like it’s a way for them to feel inspired again, and to try something new. As an experiment, it’s successful. As music, even though it leaves something to be desired, its willful experimenting is admirable.