My Brightest Diamond Tear It Down by: Arjun S. Ravi Mon:23-Apr-07 Label: Year: 2007 WB rating 48 out of 100

Why Shara, why? It is unclear why Ms. Worden would tear down a masterpiece of a debut record into the few vocal melodies and numbing post-disco beats that result in this new release. One thing is clear though, whatever the aim was, the product is far from the coherent tour de force that the original almost effortlessly delivered.

Worden really is living a semi-charmed life. Co-star, chanteuse and label mate to possibly the second biggest indie act (Sufjan Stevens) these days (you know you like Arcade Fire more), she occupies an exciting space. It’s almost an undeniable given that everything she touches will turn gold. But it is the ‘semi’ in her semi-charmed life which is the more humbling, thorn-in-the-rose of what would otherwise be a perfect career path. Whereas Sufjan rules the indie mindspace (and charts), Worden could just as easily disappear or fade from the scene, leaving precious little of a ‘legacy’ behind, with a few mediocre releases. Which brings us to the all important question – why Shara, why?

The reason why remix albums are always a risky proposition is the simple fact that remixes are usually either upgrades or downgrades of the original material which, when put together in the form of an album, lose the cohesiveness and completeness of the original – leaving you with a few lounge-y dance mixes that fall squarely under the trip-hop scheme of things. Which is not to say that all remix albums are destined to be mediocre ‘mods’. In fact, even on Tear It Down, some of the tracks are refreshing, but the collective punch expected from an album is lost in a haze of overlaid vocals, processed beats and Pro Tools effects.

It’s Worden’s voice that is really the saving grace of Tear It Down. When she sang “Come and fly away with me tonight” on the original ‘Dragonfly’ you were ready to pack your bags and go to wherever she would order. With such a phenomenal force behind those words, it would be daft not to make them the centerpiece of a remix record. And thankfully, that’s what’s been done. But where Bring Me The Workhouse left you hanging on to every word and eerie silence, Tear It Down loses the vocal subtlety and bangs a persistent, dead thump into the gaps. On the first of the two ‘Freak Out’ mixes (the Gold Chains Panique version), a Portishead-meets-Blondie-in-a-seedy-‘80’s-discotheque effect is the final outcome of the five-minute plus track; producing a flaky at best rendition, with the title of the album being repeated ad infinitum in a monotonic buzz. The second mix by DJ Kenny Mitchell is not much of an improvement, with a different vocal melody and cheesy countdown vocals superimposed on a seven minute, out-and-out dance track. The electronic mish-mash of beats and effects is painfully dull.

The better remixes are those that give Worden’s voice some space. Alfred Brown’s ‘Magic Rabbit’ mix is nicely minimal, using echoes and strings effectively, to complement the vocals well. David Keith’s ‘Something Of An End’ mix, with its pronounced bass line and post-rock extravagance is also encouraging, and would do well as a B-side on a single. The first of the ‘Disappear’ remixes by Stakka plays like the soundtrack of a James Bond movie, but with a ‘Desert Rose’ era Sting feel that is a welcome respite from the other numbing trip-hop mixes.  However, the best mix by far is Lusine’s version of ‘Workhorse’, it floats on a bed of hypnotic Buddha Bar-ish beats with a sprinkling of early Bjork thrown in, clearly the only mix that truly captures the beautiful essence of the original song.

The question mark over this album, is still the question mark, as apart from the few tracks that match their source through interesting reworking (‘Workhorse’, ‘Disappear’, ‘Magic Rabbit’), the majority of the album is lost in a disappointing muddle of near-generic electronica. Hopefully, when she comes to creating her next record, she will have learnt a lesson and steer clear of anyone whose name has the word DJ in it.

Personally, I’m not a big fan of remix albums, and this record did nothing to help the cause. If you really want an overdose of My Brightest Diamond, hit repeat on Bring Me The Workhorse.