Pizzicato Five - Happy End of You (Matador)

Pizzicato Five's output just seems to get better. That said, this isn't exactly a P5 album... It was only a few months ago that I had the pleasure of reviewing Pizzicato Five's Happy End of The World on these very pages. Looking back, a 9/10 review was certainly generous, but it was one of those instant classics. Happy End Of You, on the other hand, is a remix album with new interpretations of almost all the tracks by a very diverse array of beat surgeons, many of which have been steadily leaked on promo for the past year.

As always with a remix album, the results are very, very varied. Some you'll love forever and others you'll want to instantly forget. Automator's mix of 'Love's Theme' is fresh and useful on the dancefloor. 808 State's track on the other hand adds nothing more than a percussive backing to an original that was best placed as a quirky end of night cheese theme, rather than a mid-night groove. Mixes from Daddy O, DJ Dara and John Oswald are great for 12"s but aren't going to set the world alight as album tracks. But it is interesting to hear bands like GusGus, the High Llamas and Saint Etienne in control - the latter's take on the P5 sound is exactly what you'd expect, but quality all the same. But final prizes should go to Momus ('Trailer Music') and Daniel Miller (working with Gareth Jones on 'The World Is Spinning at 45rpm') who both use their remixing might to completely rip up the originals but retain their original quirkiness. 6/10


This review also published in: DJ magazine