3 out of 5

Label: Capitol Records

Produced by: Various

Who could have possibly called this?  You there – in the back: you put your god damned hand down.  Anyone who claims they would’ve named Marcy Playground as a likely candidate for the remix treatment is a freaking liar.  And anyone who further claims to have predicted that it would work is clearly insane.  I suppose I’ve likely just qualified the band and several label people as insane, but so be it.

So motivations aside, MP lead guy John Wozniak decides to leave their Wonderland release in the hands of their fans, and the results were a slew of remix takes from which  MP selected their preferences.  Said selections are pretty good, ranging from the assumed put-it-to-a-dance-beat remix style, reimaginings (Devil Woman as a dub song), and then some less obviously changed pieces where the effects would seem to be more with highlighting certain elements than outright altering anything.

As mentioned in previous reviews, MP were able to consistently write listenable tracks, and none of these remixes take that away (except maybe for that dub bit, because I generally am bored by that style).  However, none really add new dimensions to the songs, to make them into “new” songs which might justify a purchase, again with one exception: The a capella take on Star Baby comes closest to filling the bill of presenting a track in a fashion that might make you hear it in a new way.

That sort of “it’s not bad but why does it exist?” sense suggests that the rating should maybe be lower to reflect that quality, but I have to admit that tossing a dance beat onto the cheesier tracks (Blackbird) makes them a ton more tolerable, and the slight sequencing rearrangement shows some thought given to how the remixes sound as an album.  It’s enough to reconsider Indaba based on its strengths and not just to view it as a lark.