- In the grand tradition of major label maximization, Depeche Mode released 17 remixes of two songs from their 13th studio album, Delta Machine. Remixes came from the likes of Steve Angello, Feed Me and, weirdly, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, but this 12-inch is more geared towards the needs of techno DJs.
On Truss's remix of "Should Be Higher," the new-school techno producer adds distant breakbeats to Dave Gahan's vocals and submerges them in sewage, with bits of sub-bass churning besides a heavily processed growl. Like many of Truss's productions, it's raw without sounding self-consciously so. The remix under his MPIA3 alias is squawking, malevolent acid that's an ideal match for Gahan's narcotic desperation. Switching between a promise—"I'll take you higher"—and a demand—"you should be higher"—a burst of silence breaks through at the halfway point before the distorted mass continues pounding away.
Against the incendiary first two, both Koen Groenevald and Überzone's remixes suffer from linearity. Pangaea's "Dub Remix" has a thwacking groove and metallic vocal processing that harks back to Hessle Audio circa 2008, particularly Pangaea's own "You & I." DJMREX, a collaboration between Nitzer Ebb's Douglas McCarthy and Cyrus Rex, wrap up a solid package by turning "Should Be Higher" into a hazy drone, with a brooding, off-kilter piano outro that's a welcome comedown from the intensity elsewhere.
TracklistA1 Should Be Higher (Truss Remix)
A2 Should Be Higher (MPIA3 Definition)
A3 Should Be Higher (Koen Groeneveld Massive Remix)
B1 Should Be Higher (Pangaea Dub Remix)
B2 Should Be Higher (Überzone Remix)
B3 Should Be Higher (DJMREX Remix)