Romance Bloody Romance: Remixes & B-Sides

AMG Review of Romance Bloody Romance: Remixes & B-Sides

Johnny Loftus
All Music Guide

With You're a Woman, I'm a Machine and the resulting run of sweaty live shows Sebastien Grainger and Jesse F. Keeler proved that Death from Above 1979's bass/Moog/drums/vocals setup fulfills both sides of the dance-punk hyphenate. So it's no surprise that Romance Bloody Romance is more intent on reinterpretation -- on showing off the diversity of the source material -- than offering straight remixes exclusively for dancing. There are four versions each of "Romantic Rights" and "Black History Month," and both Keeler (Mstrkrft) and Grainger (Girl on Girl) contribute under-affiliated remix aliases. There's definitely dancey stuff -- "Sexy Results" gets a cowbell hiccup, handclaps, and a modified disco slink; Jesper Dahlbäck turns one of the "Romantic Rights" into a pounding, strutty house anthem, and Alan Braxe & Fred Falke alternate the harsh chording of the original "Black History Month" with lush stretches of Continental disco. It's "Death from Above Ibiza!" But Josh Homme's "Black History" is full of eerie chimes and backmasked vocals, and the violin of Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett) shows up in the in Girl on Girl's understated reconsideration of the same. The violin and muted organ tones over the original's stuttering bass line positions this particular "BHM" somewhere between 1970s melodrama and a breakdance rhythm track.