Turkey Day Treat: The Morning Benders' Excuses (The Golden Filter Remix)'

By Ron Garmon Thu., Nov. 25 2010 at 6:00 AM

Categories: Hear This While High

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Hear this while high: The Morning Benders' "Excuses (The Golden Filter Remix)" courtesy of Gorilla vs. Bear.

Behind the buzz: Berkeleyites transplanted to the no-neck wilds of Brooklyn, The Morning Benders scored in '08 with an impressive debut full-length Talking Through Tin Cans, went on to tour with the flashpan likes of Ra Ra Riot and Death Cab for Cutie, and lent this very tune (the original version) to an ad for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Among these emoluments of indie-rock stardom, they can now add having this highlight off the February album Big Echo album given a cosmos-huffing makeover by none other than NYC electronic duo The Golden Filter.

Today's weed: A limburger-rank chunk of Fire OG.

Psychoactive verdict: Here we find the original's Wall of Sound virtues getting a stylish candyflip makeover. The darkly romantic dancefloor fantasias on the Filters' Voluspa are indifferent preparation for this drop-dead disco rewiring. The track opens with a devil's choir chanting diabolical "la-la's," yielding to a stalwart dance thump as lyrics are read with blank affect. Chilly synth lines put the melancholy tune into cybernetic deep freeze. The whole production has a gorgeous surface sheen reminiscent of a late 1970s Salsoul 12-inch, only with the brassy Gotham elegance of that era swapped out for something chillier and contemporary. The Fire O.G. strain imparts a nice sense of detachment, like you're just another pallid wallflower at the Vampire's Ball, watching the dancefloor carnage from a fastidious distance.

The part where you know you're high: The eerie "We'll still be best friends" chant going up in a brief Sgt. Pepper's-force maelstrom.

The part where you wish you were higher: Just after, when the giggling starts.

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