By Lake DiStefano
Staff Writer
When Paramore released their sixth studio album back in February, the standard edition of “This Is Why,” I was elated. It was a stunning record. So when the remix album, “Re: This Is Why,” was announced, I felt a sense of dread. How does one reimagine such a tight record in a fresh and compelling way?
Despite the featured artists on each track, who were tasked with remixing one song from the main album and are featured in the new song titles, “Re: This Is Why” falls short of any semblance of quality.
The record starts with “This Is Why (Re: Foals).” Electronic beats are added onto the original song, as well as removing the instrumental in its entirety. Due to this, the vocals feel unsupported, and the song sounds choppy and artificially created. You can practically hear the stray parts of the song being forced together.
“The News (Re: The Linda Lindas)” comes close to capturing the power of the original track. The drums and guitars, while muted with reverb and studio effects, are still present. The tempo is roughly the same, and the chorus verges on having more impact than the original. That being said, it falls victim to the pitfall most remixes do: It is simply not better than the original song.
There were two remixes for “Running Out of Time.” “Running Out Of Time (Re: Panda Bear)” and “Running Out Of Time (Re: Zane Lowe)” both suffer from adding nearly two minutes to the track as opposed to the original. This causes them to feel bloated. The echoey and lengthy nature of these remixes feel like a formless mesh of sound. There is no genius here, which unifies the tracks as pieces of music.
“C'est Comme Ça (Re: Wet Leg)” is another instance of lost potential. The new, dry vocals help the bitter humor in the lyrics shine, but the chorus simply doesn’t hit the way it does in the original song. The new bouncy instrumental done by the band almost works, but it fails to ever ground itself enough to deliver a piece of sound which sticks.
The worst remix on the record is easily “Big Man, Little Dignity (Re: DOMi & JD BECK).” Admittedly, I had to stifle a laugh upon hearing this one for the first time. Everything from the circus-like horns which open the track, to the trap-like beat which persists throughout its entire runtime, all leave a feeling of failed experimentation.
“You First (Re: Remi Wolf) opens with acoustic guitar, upbeat drums and shouty vocals from Remi Wolf. Much like most of this project, it feels pointless. Despite aspirations of being a great cover, there are still large enough traces of the original to leave it feeling shallow in comparison.
The strangest of the remixes is “Figure 8 (Re: Bartees Strange).” The original track is one of their heaviest rock songs ever, so the direction of an electronic remix leaves a level of whiplash. The track is slowed down to let the added auto-tune really bite at the listener. Even more odd, the end of the track transitions into an acoustic guitar song with the original track's vocals being replaced by new ones from Bartees Strange.
“Liar (Re: Romy)” and “Crave (Re: Claud)” take similar directions. They are duets where the guest artist adds new vocals, while the instrumental of the original is stripped back. Despite the beautiful vocals presented on both, there is a certain energy and momentum they lose by being composed of mostly vocals. They sound pretty, but they’re not very exciting.
Despite all of my complaints, there is one remix of quality. That being the penultimate track “Thick Skull (Re: Julien Baker).” This one works mainly because it is not really a remix. This is a cover with some liberties taken; Baker’s vocals are emotive and the new instrumental is rock-adjacent, while still catering to Baker’s style of indie. The only real fault is that her vocals never increase in intensity in tandem with the instrumental, but even still, the climax hits with all the power a version of “Thick Skull” should have. This track is on par with the original–a feat no other track on this record can claim to have.
The album concludes not with a remix, but a b-side. “Sanity (demo)” only highlights how little Paramore needs remixes. It has all the funk of their 2017 release, “After Laughter,” and all of the gritty post-punk of the standard edition of “This Is Why.” With witty lyrics personifying the concept of sanity, and driving guitars and drums, it leaves one wondering why it didn’t make the album to begin with.
“Re: This Is Why” is a harmless, yet rough, project. If anything, it serves to remind the listener of how good the original is in comparison. As a band, Paramore remixes were never going to work to begin with. When you remix away the original instrumental, you essentially remove over half of the band, and with it the magic that makes Paramore special. As a fan, this record is odd to me. Fundamentally it cannot appeal to fans. But if it’s not meant for fans, then who is it meant for?
