The Last Dance- Reflections of Rage

Less than a year after their latest full-length, the Last Dance has more material for your listening pleasure with this collection of remixes (plus a few originals). Unlike some remix albums, this one has a diverse enough grouping of artists to keep things interesting throughout. Some stick fairly close to the original. Oddstar’s “Anger Management Mix” of “Rage” just adds a bit more electronic atmospheres, for example, while Form30 brings out the club-friendly side of “Fairytale the Storm” by adding some touches of techno to the backbeat but leaves the melodies more or less alone. European medieval act Corvus Corax adorn their mix of “Nightmares” with a more primal drumbeat and squealing bagpipes, but it’s still the keyboards of the original that stand out the most. Other artists take more drastic measures. Idiot Stare beefs up “Wonderlust” with hand-claps, EBM beats, and slashing power chords, while Thou Shalt Not turns “Voices” into a bouncy synthpop song. Experimental electronic composer Cyrus Rex’s “Fallen Between Worlds Mix” is the most extreme; it starts with seemingly pointless laptop noodling before building into a sort of darkwave/trip-hop crossover frosted with melancholy strings. Mercurine’s “Myself Into You Mix” of “Breath” is by far the standout track, though. It strips the original down to hypnotic beats and voices, with Jeff Diehm’s original vocals brought to the forefront while the vocals of Michelle Joyce (wife of Last Dance guitarist Rick) soar atmospherically in the distance. The original songs on this album are great, as well. “Simplicity” moves at a fairly laid-back rhythm, but Joyce’s tense guitars and Diehm’s dramatic vocals keep things edgy. “Desperately Still” is gorgeous, driven by echoing pianos and strummed guitars, some of the best of what modern gothic rock has to offer. Then there’s the album closer, a rendition of Britney Spears’s “Oops, I Did It Again” that qualifies as the most unlikely goth cover since Bella Morte took on Celine Dion. And to think, people say goths don’t have a sense of humor.

Go to www.thelastdance.com to visit the guys online.