I’m so fuckin’ predictable. Of course I like the REMIXES on Near Far All We Are more than the SONGS!? That makes so much UNsense, and yet I knew within five seconds of hearing Chris North’s well-intentioned version of “I Gave Life to Love” (and I’ve lent him props via Cerbs in the past) that this would be the case. Suffice to say, Many Mansions give “I Gave Life to Love” (don’t like the title) the facelift it needs, then there’s a recording of waves. Side B lends “The Nature of Love” (What’s up with those titles? Shit, man.), a much better acoustic slide down country lane, and “US 1 North,” a decent stripped-down number that reminds me of long drives in the 1980s, back when Lightfoot was on the radio and my dad drove a station wagon. Then “The Nature of Love” gets remixed and, again, I prefer it this way. All in all, Near Far All We Are is a lot better than I thought it was going to be when that first track hit. I can live with this, particularly by dint of the strangely effective tactic of remixing indie-country. Strange days, bro.
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