Various Artists: owL remix Low

The disarmingly spare, delicate pop music of the Duluth band Low is ripe for remix experimentation: The trio builds its songs around airy melodies, smooth lyrical phrasings, and the gaps between notes, all attributes around which to build haunting, ambient remixes. So here's owL remix Low, an eight-track compilation of Low songs reworked by the likes of Tranquility Bass, DJ Vadim, Jimmy Somerville, and Neotropic. The results should intrigue and baffle the disc's target audience of adventurous Low fans, but it may not be worth the price of admission to anyone else. For starters, several of these tracks are virtually unrecognizable as Low songs: Neotropic's two versions of "Anon" are built around buzzing effects and breakbeats, with barely a trace of the source material's core elements. Others, like Porter Ricks' reworking of "Down," sample and loop only scant remnants of the original's melodies. Tranquility Bass pulls off owL remix Low's greatest feat on "Over The Ocean," keeping the song's beautiful chorus intact, but allowing the song to evolve into the horn-fueled dance number no one could have expected. (The subtitle "'91 Party Dance Mix" is as appropriate as it is sarcastic, but did there need to be a "re-remix" by Skull Valley Dub) The biggest problem with owL remix Low is that Low's music is plenty haunting and atmospheric by itself, and this cabal of remix jockeys tends to rob the songs of their quiet texture. It's a compelling experiment that improves with repeat listens, but there are too many misfires. The uninitiated should initiate themselves with Low's studio albums, not this between-albums trifle.