Seriously underrated thus far, Super Melody’s recent album Destination Unknown is a clever, tongue-in-cheek solo debut for ex-Architecture in Helsinki drummer/producer James Cecil. Following two previous singles and their attendant remixes comes I Want Your Blood, capitalising nicely on both the silliness of the current vampire boom and the song’s use on the season finale of HBO comedy Bored to Death. Spiked with Cecil’s sister Romy screaming rather theatrically in the background, it’s a happily camp single that displays its creators’ unabashed love of daggy funk, wagging bass lines, and cross-continental beats.
Cecil himself provides the first remix here, as Computer Soxx. A radio edit of the longer version closing the EP, it makes a case for cosmic funk with layers and layers of sputtering synths. The next take comes from Melbourne’s Shags Chamberlain, who plays in the Smallgoods, Pikelet, and Sophia Brous’ band. In his hands, the song starts with Romy’s screams and isolates the percussion, building tension until eventually Cecil’s goofy lyrics come to the fore. Still, it’s every bit a deconstructed remix, making use of open space and revealing wonky nuances that might have been lost amid the busyness of the original. The other remix is a “bonus beats re-edit” by Cecil, stretching the now-familiar elements to nine minutes while taking its sweet time unfolding.
As radio and dancefloor appeal goes, “Worker Bee” was a stronger single than this one, but “I Want Your Blood” more directly taps into the carefree bubbliness of Super Melody. And if it brings a wider audience to Destination Unknown, all the better.
Doug Wallen
