Customer Reviews

Extended Play (Bonus Dvd)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Like the other reviewers, I was blown away by The Witching Hour. I consider it the best album of 2005. However, when I bought this b-sides and remixes compilation, I wasn't expecting Witching Hour part II.

I had already heard what the reviewer calls "new tracks" as they were released as b-sides to the singles released in Europe and available in the US on import. All are great; Mira gets a little more voice time on "Nothing to Hide," and the two instrumentals are amazing feats of technical and artistic skill.

I was also impressed by the remixes. The Jagz Kooner remix of "Sugar" is amazing, sure to get even the most aloof shoe-gazing indie kids to start tapping their feet and maybe even thrash around the dance floor.

The club mix of "High Rise" may be repetitive, but what club mix isn't? That's the way it's meant to be, and I for one love it. It takes the opening bits of the original, extends it, then progresses to a frenzy. Following a chill interlude, more fabulous frenzy until it drops off, leaving me a bit breathless.

"Destroy Everything You Touch (Catholic Version)" is a bit dirge-like, although perhaps it provides insight as to what has driven Ladytron's sound.

I could go on as the other two remixes are each a sonic revelation.

The bonus DVD is great, and as mentioned, the video for "Destroy Everything You Touch" is awesome. It is also very Ladytron, as their sound is often referred to with multiple adjectives synonomous with icy/chilling/remote etc.

The video for "Sugar" is not so heavy on the special effects and may not be quite as imaginative, but it is of a superior film quality than what is the norm for most videos.

The documentary is a riot. Ladytron have never been very open about themselves personally, and this doc is not intended to show insight into who they are. They never print their own lyrics, so obviously they like things to be open to interpretation.

It's fascinating for me as a Westerner to be shown a peek into a culture that doesn't traditionally get much visual exposure. Most of the live performance bits are obviously not meant to be depicting Ladytron actually singing the overdubbed tracks. At one point, they leave the stage as the overdubbed song continues. So the reviewer's complaint is without merit. During the final performance scene, however, the music played is obviously what Ladytron is performing. The other scenes they may have been singing older material, and all the overdubbed music is from the "Witching Hour" album. It is a piece of art, and not intended to be a live performance documentary.

I just want to know what Mira says after the credits roll??

I really hate to put down a release by Ladytron who are one of my favorites, but I really don't get why they were compelled to release this. The remixes have the same loop over and over (and then over and over), I would have at least expected the same creativity for the original songs. I put 2 starts in here because of the bonus dvd.

If you are a really hardcore Ladytron fan you might consider having this in your collection as not to miss any of their stuff, but all in all even as a hardcore fan myself I regret having shelled out for this.

Ladytron was quiet for a few years. They came out with Witching Hour earlier this year. It was definitely their best album, and makes their earlier stuff sound minimal. Now we have this remix CD and Ladytron have even toured America. It's been a renaissance. They have five CD released in the past five years. They are supposed to be in the fall of 2006. Ladytron have always been singular and existing in a separate world from most bands. Some of these tracks have appeared on singles and collections. Now we have a few remixes and a few b-sides. There is even a DVD with the videos of "Destroy Everything You Touch" and "Sugar." There is also a mini documentary of Ladytron's recent visit to China. Not many bands have toured there. Reuben Wu is Liverpool born and Chinese decent. This collection is more various and more danceable than the tracks on the proper album. Ladytron is a very artful band, and this is more evidence of that.

"Witching Hour" is one of the best albums I've heard and you very well may be interested in buying this for the additional mixes. Unfortunately they're mediocre and don't expand on the songs' original structure, instead muddying them up, ruining what makes them great to begin with. As for the dvd, there are two excellent clips for "Destroy Everything You Touch" and "Sugar"(which was shot in an EXTREMELY wide aspect ratio, at about 2.85:1). The footage of their travels in China is mostly uninteresting, just some cobbled footage of press junkets interspersed with intentionally, choppily edited "behind-the-scenes" nonsense. It's all rather dull and uninvolving. Except for the videos, you're likely to be disappointed with this release.

I felt that Ladytron's Extended Play made a good a addition to my current Ladytron collection. I knew what I was getting when I bought it, so I didn't feel let down. My personnel favorite off of the album was Nothing to Hide. I felt pleasantry surprised by the tracks on the album that I had never heard before. I was also quite happy with the addition of three videos on the second cd. Two music videos, and one documentary.

I love Ladytron, and I think their latest LP, 'Witching Hour' is fantastic. So I was very excited to get this release - a CD with remixes and 3 extra non-LP tracks, plus a DVD with 2 videos and a tour documentary of the band in China.
The CD - the problem is the remixes are awful. They add nothing to the power of the originals. The first track in particular titled as a 'Club Mix' is bad, bad, bad. The remix for "Destroy Everything You Touch" strips away all the energy of the original and replaces it with a droning farfisa organ. Bleh. Maybe the original tracks just shouldn't be messed with.
The 3 new tracks, 1 new song and 2 instrumentals, save the CD from being a total disaster. Certainly worth owning.
As for the DVD, 2 videos are featured, one for "Destroy Everything You Touch" and the other for "Sugar". "Destroy..." is a good video, if only because it has some original images. Placing band members heads in a snowy mountain landscape... how often do you see that?
The "Sugar" video is pretty boring. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just your run of the mill video. Is it an audition for the girls? Ooh, dialogue before the video like it's a movie, with actors! Now they're all playing as a band in a trendy apartment. Wow, creative. I think this is the video the record label wanted. It's all very safe and dull.
And then we have a half hour long documentary of Ladytron performing in China. What a mess. This is the worst kind of documentary, because we learn so little about the band. There are brief interview segments, there are performances. But the problem with the performances is that they do not sound live. Unless Ladytron can play just like the last LP, the performance audio is NOT live. So what's the point?
Are we expected to be impressed by the 'hands-on', shakey camerawork with bad audio of the band driving around in a car? I don't know if the audio is intentionally bad, or if it's supposed to make us feel like it's a bootleg. The editing... is it editing? Was it edited by chimps?
A total mess.

So, the extra songs are good. One video is very creative.
The documentary is awful.
"Witching Hour' is the greatest album Ladytron have done yet and I listen to it over and over again. But this is disappointing.

the china documentary is exactly what i expected...an experience told in an unconventional manner. it's not supposed to be the sit-down-interview-answer-questions type of thing. again, it's exactly what to expect from an extremely artful electro band.

the remixes are fairly useless. the catholic "destroy" is a novelty, not an interesting alternative look. the "high rise" mix is alright. could be annoying to some people. the b-sides are cool & the the dvd is interesting. could be better, could be worse.

To respond to the previous reviewer, having just seen Ladytron live in concert at the 9:30 club, I can definitely vouch for them sounding very similar to their recordings live. The live performances have a bit more energy, but for the most part there isn't a huge difference.

I would really love a good remix of High Rise, as that song is amazing. The Club Mix has a lot of potential but it falls short in it's repetitive nature. The Jagz Kooner remix of Sugar is the best remix here, as the others completely take away what made the original songs good. Except for the Catholic mix of Destroy, which is actually pretty interesting.

The extra tracks, Nothing to Hide, Citadel, and Tender Talons are all very good tracks and should be obtained.

I have no opinions on the music videos.

All in all, this is more for hardcore Ladytron fans, not your average listener.