Album Details

• Artist: Salli Lunn
• Album: A Frame Of Reference
• Label: Hidden Shoal
• Year of Release: 2011
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: patchen on 2011-11-09

It might seem curious for a band to follow up its debut with a record of remixes of songs from that debut, but Salli Lunn are anything but predictable. The Danish noise rockers show on "A Frame of Reference" the hidden depth of many of their prior songs, as well as willingness to re-envision them on the fly. There are a couple new songs here too for the nervous. This is no stopgap release, but an extension of Salli Lunn's growing confidence.

The acoustic techno of "Parachutes Forever (Markus Mehr Remix)" is heavy buy warm, to say nothing of daring given their past work. It announces that the band will not play it safe here. "The First Cause (Radio Edit) is straight on shimmering pop, hypnotic and dreamy," as is "Fast Cars, Clean Bodies (City of Satellites Remix)," which also offers a pulsing dance groove with swirling guitars low in the mix.

Probably the best of the remixes is "The Invention of Steel (Manual Remix),"  a sharp, post-rock effort, minimal in melody but one that slowly stacks sounds on top of it. A new track, "White Sight," is a slow, sludgy dirge whose simple power bodes well for the future.

Salli Lunn's remixes of early tracks on "A Frame of Reference" are often brilliant efforts that re-imagine those songs but retain their essence. The band's blend of Krautrock, shoegaze, techno and straight on melodic rock is an addicting stew.

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