Like the first half of the album, this is a collection of remixes and original material (with singer collaborations). Listen to Repeating Motion to get a taste of the pick-me-up anthems that litter the record. I adore All I Got, which is as catchy as anything you’ll hear all year.

While the first half of the record was largely pump-up, the second half slows things down a little bit to contemplate. Listened to in tandem with the first half, the record feels much more complete. Tracks like 405 work better alongside the rest of the album than they do on their own. While I love Cheap Sunglasses, I think the best new track here is We Belong, which is a beautiful manifesto for electronic music as a genre, but also for those of us who understand the nature of electronic things: nothing lasts.

While describing the record as melancholic would be a stretch, it would be fair to say it feels like the unravelling of a Friday evening. Pairing the album with its predecessor is strange, though: because the first half is so danceable and this record is so much quieter, it makes the album feel front-loaded to a fault. The records are better when listened to independently.

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The nature of remixes is that they’re often focused on dance songs, and while that’s true with Strangers, it doesn’t feel disrespectful to the original music. In a lot of ways, it feels like the songs RAC choose to remix are measurably improved by the remixes on this go-around, and given fresh life in addition to a new perspective.

Remixes also tend to focus on pop songs or hip hop, but the choice for RAC to focus almost exclusively on indie rock here is wise. Not only does it differentiate it from the rest of the pack, it also gives us fresh light on what the genre could sound like when it’s prepared for a different audience. This conversation is vital in expanding the vocabulary of indie and alternative rock; as the genres mature, it’s important we continue to look outside of them for both influence and direction. It’s good to escape the echo chamber.

RAC used to stand for Remix Artist Collective, but these days is the sole project of André Allen Anjos. Anjos is one of the best producers around. Don’t miss out on this one — I suspect I’ll be featuring more RAC here very soon — perhaps when Part 2 hits in April.

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Oh Emily is as fun a post-breakup song as you could ever hear, and At Last has all the charm of a modern romance (it really picks up in the middle or so). Say When is filled with smart songwriting and sensibilities, and a great piano line married to a catchy beat. (Coincidentally, you might have noticed Generationals’ Heza also has a track called Say When. Heza is also reviewed in this issue. I did not plan this.)

The album takes a turn halfway through, with Dead suddenly becoming very quiet, but it really resonates. Something about the shift in tone really works. Adulthood is sad, but true: “From adulthood, no one survives.” But it’s said with such poppy exuberance that it makes me want to dance. All For Love is bouncy and inventive without straying too far from a recognizable formula.

Everybody Knows would have been a sold album closer on its own, but Jukebox the Ghost’s choice to end the album with The Spiritual stuns me. It’s so different from everything else on the record, and so immediately somber, that it’s striking. It’s visceral in its immediacy. It’s reminiscent of Queen’s ballads, and there’s a couple notes where I suddenly feel like I’m listening to Freddie Mercury.

When the final track is done, and the silence enveloped me, I’m left sitting in awe. Safe Travels is one of the most cohesive and complete albums I’ve heard all year.

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