Metamatics

There's something bold in starting off a retrospective compilation of one's work over the past decade with a new cover version, even more so when it's a version of one of the most omnipresent rock/dance anthems ever. But Metamatics does a fantastic job with the warhorse that is Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus," turning the glam stomp of the original into a slippery, nervous post-IDM effort shot through with ghostly moans and electro-squelches approximating but not replicating the base guitar parts. It's a great way to begin My Favourite Kind of Irrelevance, which cherry-picks from ten years' work to create an enjoyable introduction to the act's work. A few of the selections are on the rarity side, such as the 7" mix of "Here to Go (Days Are Gone)" and the full Metamatics collaboration with John Foxx, the exultant but still coolly unsettled "Free Robot," but generally speaking it's a thoughtful cherry-picking of releases under the Metamatics, Norken and, in one instance, the A1 People names (specifically a Metamatics remix of "Do It"). Standout tracks include Norken's "Ty Canal," a sleek bit of spacy funk that actually lives up to such an overused genre term thanks to the swooping keyboards on the one hand and good beats on the other, and the slow loping Metamatics song "So Many Ways," with a simple but lush-sounding two-note keyboard part providing the background for an alternately quirky and moody piece. [A limited two-disc edition includes more ambient-oriented selections for an enjoyable contrast.] ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide