5 (In Mind Remixes)

Never mind the nightmarish imagery that over-contextualized shoegazing might conjure up, this EP features two elongated mixes of Slowdive's "In Mind" dubbed-out single that illuminate the band's familiar (albeit unspoken) understanding of the world of ambient workouts and Skam-esque experimentation. The Bandulu remix takes the melancholic dream pop core of the original and sprays it with a more pumped-up, schizophrenic outbreak of drum loops whereas the Reload interpretation completely transforms the song into a cavernous, morose mini-epic that sounds like Depeche Mode on a very bad holiday. Admittedly far from one of the best introductions to the band, Five (In Mind Remixes) still demonstrates that the band's principles were just as much with budding electronics as with infatuated foot pedals. ~ Dean Carlson