Hit and miss
Tellison initially released “Contact, Contact” in 2008; it was basically a melodic pop-rock record with plenty of hooks and catchy tunes; this album is a remix version of that record.
The remix is something often consigned to the single b-side, and that’s usually where it should stay. Releasing an album a second time but made up of remix versions of the same tunes feels a bit self indulgent and could turn into a pretty pointless exercise if done badly; the tunes that were on the original album “Contact, Contact” were reasonably catchy pop-rock tunes, not particularly exciting, and while the remixes might have made them into something else entirely, for the most part they don’t really do anything spectacular with them. Often the tracks become shadows of their former selves, meandering aimlessly, now merely mediocre dance tunes with an occasional indie slant often too repetitive and drowned in synth nose to be enjoyable. ‘Fire’ is one such track, now rendered unbearably irritating, ‘New York New York New York’ lumbers around but doesn’t really go anywhere and ‘Disaster, Disaster’ is a messy mash-up.
There are some great tracks however; ‘Tender is the Night’ mixed by Zach Lipkins steals the album easily, ‘Architects’ sounds all dreamy Postal Service, ‘Hospital’ is charming and ‘Ambulance’ stands out because it remembers how to rock out at times. So, very patchy at times but there are moments that save the record as a whole, still one for fans only.