Album Review: Grinderman 2 RMX Grinderman

Remixes have taken on a realm of their own in the last decade, with no genre left unscarred. Often the result is the lathering of terrible mismatched sounds to a tune to make it “unique” (aka shithouse). But there are many wunderkind producers and artists out there that are not only adventurous but are also in sync with the artists they are working with, thus the remix becomes more of a collaboration. Nick Cave's scabrous offshoot Grinderman isn't an act synonymous with such aspirations, but Grinderman 2 RMX helps cast aside any ill-feeling in what is generally in ingenious take on what is already an incredible album.

There are a number of tracks and artists here that are rife for the picking. Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)'s production on Bellringer Blues turns the debaucherous tune into a far more surreal rabbithole journey of filth. Stoner rock god Josh Homme in some ways takes the easy route with his take on the already full-throttled devilry of Mickey Mouse and The Goodbye Man (here called Mickey Bloody Mouse), adding his penchant for rampant riffs and smoky segues. New York noise merchants A Place To Bury Strangers dial Worm Tamer up considerably, yet manage to somehow exaggerate an already bulging swagger.

However, if you are going to remix something, look to the masters. Splicing geniuses UNKLE have taken a different route to Worm Tamer and created a parallel world monster where blood drips off the walls from a Bollywood saloon, as if King Khan may walk in at any second and let Cave et al do tequila shots from his cavernous navel. It's incredibly reckless, high-octane and audacious – much like Grinderman itself.