[LISTEN TO & BUY THIS RELEASE IN THE junodownload PLAYER BELOW] Matthew Dear has had a pretty good 2010. His new album has
been universally well-received, his live show has continued to find favour with
fans and standout track
Little People has been liberally sprinkled into end-of-year
charts across the board. So when it was announced that Chilean New Yorker Nicolas Jaar,
who has caused waves across the house scene in recent months, was going to be
remixing one of the strongest track from Dear’s most recent albums,
expectations were pretty high.
If you’ve got the album - and let’s face it, if you like
Matt Dear you’re going to have bought it at some point last summer - you will
already know what the original version of You Put A Smell On Me sounds like.
The track is all about big Depeche-Mode-like riffs, moody drums, long synths
and Mr. Dear’s trademark vocals creepily drippingwith sexual undertones as he
sings about his ‘big black car’ and ‘little red night gown’. The new dub offering
on the 12” is a decent enough option, but without the fully-fledged vocals that
holds it all together the track feels lacking compared to the original.
As expected, it’s Jaar’s remix which makes this release such a tasty
purchase. Stripping the track back to its bones and rebuilding it, Jaar offers warm
bells and a steady downtempo house beat to compliment the beautifully spliced vocals
of Dear that Jaar has edited and changed the pitch of. The track seethes with undertones that throwback to early house and
synth-pop, creating a track that feels both a force to be reckoned with and incredible fragile at
the same time. It might be early days but I would be surprised if in 2011 Jaar didn't get the same attention that Troxler and Jamie Jones have seen this season.
Final remix comes courtesy of Breakbot and at 3:39, it’s as
short as it is forgettable. Put through the Ed-Banger-standard-remix factory,
the track comes out sounding like '80s synth-pop disco with (surely)
re-recorded vocals that aim to sound sultry, but instead feel insubstantial. However,
last remix aside (which in fairness, is not bad just very plain compared to the
other offerings) this is another strong offering Dear, and another excellent
calling card for Mr. Jaar.