3 out of 5

Label: The Numero Group

Produced by: Heba Kadrey (remastered by)

There are a few different aspects to review here: even though this remaster is the same as the one in the box set, releasing it separately warrants a review; there is the “bonus” album, which is the first iteration of (It (Is) It), recorded a couple years prior; and then there’s reviewing this as a rerelease / anniversary release overall – and so separately and together, how do these things fare, and do they make it a worthwhile purchase?

Obviously for 90 Day Men collectors, the answer is obvious: you want that bonus album. Even though we have singles and sketches of what early 9DM sound like, they’re exactly that: singles and sketches; “+” gives us a glimpse of what a full length of that style would’ve / could’ve been. And, y’know, it’s okay. Whereas the 4-person version of the band, with Andy on bass, would produce particularly unpredictable material, somehow sonically grouped but sounding radically different song to song and LP to LP, the 3-person edition was more squarely post-rock; their unpredictably felt a bit more forced. That’s what we’re hearing here. In comparison, it’s undeniably interesting: the slight differences in tracks shared between the version of the albums tell a world of difference in approach: minimal changeups into how a beat is hit or Case’s slow-roll into a “note” are those of a band settling into their weirdness, instead of more directly mimicking Big Black and June of 44 and so on. If you were handed the album cold, though, it’s hard to say whether or not it’d have staying power, and I suppose that can be determined based on what drew / draws you to 90 Day Men, and whether you prefer their pre-debut stuff over their full releases. Me…? I honestly never listen to those things, except when I need a refresher; I don’t seek it out. This is in contrast to other bands who changed over their careers – like Young Widows – where I’ll still go back and appreciate their early stuff. In other words, just assessing this as a post-rock curio on its own terms, it matches my score up above: it’s average. You can hear where the band would go, and probably in early 90s this would’ve been a bit wilder, but in the late 90s, there were other acts doing the off-timed post-rock / hardcore thing who arguably did it better.

Okay! As to the remaster: er… I don’t like it. Similar to the above, I think it’s an interesting comparison point to the original master (from John Golden), and I appreciate Heba Kadry’s approach – it does what I’d ask of a remaster, in maintaining the original sound intentions but giving us a new take – but I think in trying to unify 9DM’s sound across their albums (since Heba remastered everything for the box set), that favored the more instrumentally flourished stuff on their later releases, meaning the Albini-esque hollow rattle of this album was kind of lost, when I found that key to it working. Very subjective stuff as I always say with remasters; but this time, even if I don’t prefer it, I think it’s a worthwhile exploration, and I’d understand if others dig it. (It (Is) It) was such a landmark album for me, it’s inevitable I’ll feel attachment to the original, but I can appreciate how the heavy Chicago / NY sound of this disc might’ve made it less accessible to some, and Heba’s master smoothes that out and highlights its quirkier nuances, adding some warmth and space back in.

So that’s one so-so and one plus. How about the overall package? Hm. Thumbs down, y’all. We get one (long) paragraph of notes from producer Greg Norman about the background of each album, which is nice, but the liner notes are… kinda trash? They don’t actually clarify who mixed what (like is this the same remaster from Heba?), and the images are either from the original album or one set of photos from (presumably) the trio era that I feel like we probably saw in the boxset. I also found the layout odd, with the liner notes on one sleeve, and the entire track listing (for both albums) on the other. I dunno. I’m admittedly very salty over this being released so soon after that box I’ve mentioned several times, as it’s too annoying of a double-dip just to get the bonus album. So if you’re going to do that – and bill this as an anniversary release – it feels like it should have some more to it. Maybe the response is: “we put all the “more” into the box set,” but that just kinda proves my saltyness, no?

Thus… we land at an average rating overall. If you’re a fan, you bought this. If you’re a casual, I’d whistle and admit it’s not necessary, and I’d probably push you towards the original master based on my tastes…