Customer Reviews

Hypnagogic States

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

 

 

The Hypnagogic States EP is an unnecessary and unwanted stop-gap measure placed between the end of the Cure's single series and the delayed release of their thirteenth studio album, 4:13 Dream, which comes out October 28th. When the remixer list was announced, I knew that the EP was going to be a disappointment. Instead of opting for a group of talented and experienced remixers like Junior Boys and Hot Chip, Universal culled their lads from the most popular emo and alternative rock acts they could find, resulting in a group that sounded impressive, but was essentially inexperienced. However, not all is bad, and the EP does still manage to have some interesting moments and styles.

"The Only One" remix by Jared Leto of 30 Seconds To Mars is actually a surprisingly good remix of the song, keeping the pop spirit of the song while adding in a lot of variation in instrumentation and style, making it a lovely ballad instead of a driving pop track. Considering that some 30 Seconds To Mars material like "The Kill" and "From Yesterday" is substantially better than the works of the other three emo/alternative remixers, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the remix turned out to be interesting and intelligent. The "Freakshow" remix by Jade Puget of AFI is a less inspired remix, but it's still fun and enjoyable. Puget takes the funky aspects of the track and expands on them, making it a frantic techno dance track. While it is less innovative than "The Only One," it does something fresh with the source material. And this is where the EP takes a turn for the worse.

The "Sleep When I'm Dead" remix by Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance is dull and sticks much to closely to the source material. Way adds in electronic drums and the song eventually breaks down into a slow techno track, but at the end of the day, the song is still the same dark, alternative track it was on the single. Unlike Leto and Puget, Way didn't do anything new with the track regarding it's style or impact, but at least he did something original. The same can't be said for "The Perfect Boy" remix by Patrick Stump and Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy, which starts out as a really bad take on "Close To Me," one of the Cure's best and most well-known tracks. It develops into a dull, distorted rock song, effectively ignoring the original pop beauty of the track in favor of some dull emo/alt. rock.

"Exploding Head Syndrome" is a remix of all four singles by 65daysofstatic, the post-rock band that opened for the Cure on their 2008 tour. Fortunately, this remix is actually quite interesting, taking the basic workings of the source tracks and building them up extensively with the band's post-rock sound. While no single part of the track really stands out as the best part of the EP, the track as a whole is fresh and innovative, and certainly something you haven't heard before from the Cure.

In summation, the Hypnagogic States EP certainly never needed to happen, but the artists' royalties from its sale go to support the Red Cross, so at least it serves a good purpose. "The Only One" and "Exploding Head Syndrome" are both excellent remixes that do something new with the material. "Freakshow" is interesting but not particularly captivating, and "Sleep When I'm Dead" and "The Perfect Boy" are boring and do little with their source material to warrant their existence. However, you get a lot of music for your money, as this EP clocks in around 37 minutes, which is as long as many a pop LP. All in all, this is a collector's item and likely won't appeal to people other than Cure die-hard fans. Three stars for "The Only One," "Freakshow," and "Exploding Head Sydrome."

I think that overall the remixes are all interesting, and in the end the proceeds go to a good cause. If you are a true fan, the mixes provide another twist on the fantastic journey that is "The Cure". While it is true that it isn't 100% brand new Cure material, it lends itself very well to a small addition to my 30 year Cure collection (scary!).

I recommend the purchase!

i've been a cure fan since 1979. to say they're my favourite band does them a dis-service.mr smith's music has esentially been the soundtrack of my life. that said...these remixes are passable. but they're cure remixes so i had to buy this disc. if you aren't a died in the wool fan you may want to give it a miss

Wow! This $6.00 gem makes me want to pop in "Mixed Up" again and the Blank and Jones "The Forest" Mix CD. If you like these 2 The Cure albums, then definitely pick this up. You won't be disappointed. If you don't like the 2 albums mentioned above don't pick it up. It's that simple!

I love this remix CD !
I was presently surprised.
I think I like the remixes better that the origionals except the The perfect boy, I prefer the origional mix to the remix.

The 5th track, the 21 minute megamix, by 65 Days of Static is great too.
It is a unique idea to have a megamix of all 4 songs into 1 song.

To the reviewer that says track 5 was a throwaway track, I completly disagree. Anyone that saw 65 degrees of Static open up for The cure ontour this summer will be thrilled to see they did a remix of all 4 tracks. It is unique and I love it. Yea, it goes on and on and on for 21 minutes, that is the point, but it certainly is not a boring track.



A must have CD !!

First off, I am really glad The Cure did something like this considering the delay in getting 4:13 Dream out. I am not a huge fan of remixes but these sound pretty good. These were all pretty upbeat singles so I can see how they lend themselves to these mixes in a good way. The standout for me was on "The Perfect Boy" where it had a bit of Tom Petty's "American Girl"-sounding beat going on. I wasn't going to get this at first but thought it would be a good way to contribute a little more to the Red Cross especially with the recent hurricanes, and I'm glad I did now. Even if you don't care for remixes and are a Cure fan, at least buy this for charity's sake alone. If you like these I also recommend looking up Robert Smith's collaborations with Junior Jack, Tweaker, and Junkie XL on the tracks "Da Hype", "Truth Is", and "Perfect Blue Sky" respectively. I got those on iTunes. **On a side note, if you're a fan of lending band's a hand making creative remixes of their original material check out my favorite female artist Kristin Hersh's cashmusic website.**

Very good bunch of remixes makes me very hopeful for the studio album with the Cure's own non-remix style!

If you have not been "loving" the uninspired new singles from The Cure, this EP may be the answer. Mixed by a slew of cutting edge producers, the first four tracks are complete reinventions of their last four singles with a vibrant and urgent electronic groove. Freakshow even borders on being a dancefloor gem. Seriously. As a long time fan, it got me wondering what a great direction and departure a full album like this might have been. The odd, beleaguered and throwaway fifth track, "Exploding Head Syndrome", is four other mixes of the four singles (not an non-album track) that goes on and on and on and on and on... for 21 minutes. While this EP will keep The Cure relevant to non-fans and maybe even get them more radio play, longtime fans might be alienated by this interesting experiment.

Although the profits are going to a good cause, I am devastated that RS has allowed a bunch of emo monkeys to play around with the songs.
This ep makes mixed up look like a masterpiece.
Someone said the other day "no wonder emo kids harm themselves"

A sad day really.