Lunch of Champions

Jenny Dalton’s Carbon Lilly Remixes

I’m always a little wary of any DJ remixes. This was particularly true when I put on Carbon Lilly Remixes, a remix-album of tracks from Jenny Dalton’s first album.

For such a new musician to release a collection of already-released tracks remixed and re-packaged just seemed like a bad idea. It still seems like it may have been a bit early for this album to be released, but there is something hauntingly satisfying about her vocals drifting coolly over a synthetic, dark, bass-driven musical landscape.

It’s clear that Dalton’s work and the work of the DJs who mixed these tracks are separate entities, but they feed off of each other. The mix is hypnotic and the vocals slide on top, a siren’s call drawing you in. It’s easy to lose yourself in this album.

That is not to say this album is flawless. Since the album is a total of ten tracks long and only seven of her tracks were remixed, three tracks are repeated with different mixes. While they are still distinct, it can be a bit repetitive.

The transition from one track to the next is a bit jarring. I would say that this collection of songs, while breathtaking, doesn’t quite function as an album in and of itself.

I guess I would say this is an excellent party record. I can’t see myself sitting down to listen to this record beginning-to-end very often, but I can easily imagine friends stopping me as I walk through a crowd asking “who is this? It’s good.”