ARRIVING FROM TAKE OFFS

Jul 7, 1999 at 12:00 am

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Is remixing a point of departure from a song’s original form or just a wardrobe change? For Morsel, it’s neither. Made up of some of the most adept local experimenters in sound and mood, the band – with a little help from its friends – turns these 10 tracks into something that feels brand-new. If you don’t have a record player, you missed the double 7-inch, "Static" (1997), a two-pill dose of music that blows the mind in slow motion. "All Burning" and "Muted," from that set, show up here, shattered but skillfully reconstructed. The bulk of the remainder is from the 1998 full-length, I’m a Wreck, the record that hooked me into believing that my ears would welcome just about anything singer and flutist Miriam Cabrera wanted to do – or that it would be at least worth checking out. And, so far, it is.

The cool alien hiss of "Less Is More" and the ethereal opener, "Needles" (remixed by Warn Defever) shine brightly, even without the luminosity of the nametags. Testing its in-studio prowess has been a worthwhile endeavor for Morsel. After all, these remixes give us both a sign of the band’s evolution and a notable CD.